Through My Eyes
by Voice4TheMute
Summary: There is more than one way to tell a story. Everyone knows the story through Scott Pilgrim's eyes. But what about through the eyes of someone else. This is the untold story of Scott Pilgrim from the perspective of Kimberly Pine.
1. Chapter 1a

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: Just a little something I wanted to do. I want to give the Scott Pilgrim story a different angle to look at it. In this case, it will be told from the POV another character, along with feelings that COULD be running through their head. Most the lines are taken from the comic while other dialogs is made by me to give the story a little more background. Anyways, enjoy this small segment and tell me if you like the idea or if I'm just wasting my time.

* * *

_Everyone is looking for 'happily ever after'. Two people meet, there is an instant connection, and then fireworks. Unfortunately only one story will end up like that. The others will end in disaster, tragedy,_ _heartbreak. To the victor go the spoils. For everyone else, the shattered remains of what is left of themselves and their heart. Now do not get me wrong, I'm not pessimistic. I do believe that there is hope and love in the world. Afterall, I would not do what I am doing now if I did not believe that. But what can you do…what can you think when you know your actions will never be repaid? That the battle you are fighting and the sacrifices you made will not bring you any satisfaction. I battle with these thoughts every day as I watch those two. My name is Kimberly Pine…and this is my story._

_Guess it all really started two years ago…_

Pilgrim 001

"Scott Pilgrim is dating a high schooler!"

"Really? Is she hot?" Stephen Stills asked as we all sat in his kitchen, enjoying what I thought would be an uninteresting morning.

_To my right, Stephen Stills. He is 'the talent' in our band, Sex Bob-omb. He plays the guitar, the vocals, and the music writer in the band. As for me? I'm the drummer. I am not good at singing. Never was good. _

"I'm not playing your little games"

_And that clown? The one with the lame heart shirt with the letters 'SP' stitched into it? He is the bane of my existence. If I were to blame one person for all of my frustrations, anger, resentment, this would be him._

_Scott Pilgrim_

_I glanced over at Stephen, seeing if he wanted to take the lead of what we like to call 'bash on Scott Pilgrim's Life' but after him not saying anything, I decided to take a whack at it._

"So you've been out of high school for like, 13 years and-"

"I'm twenty-three! I'm twenty-three!" Scott yelled as he took his mug and sat down with the rest of us.

"And you're dating a high school girl? Not bad, not bad."

"Dating a-come on, what does that even mean?" I asked him, expecting an half assed answer or one that does not make any sense whatsoever. And the thing about Scott Pilgrim? He never fails to deliver.

"Yeah, like, did you guys 'do it' yet?" The person in front of me asked.

_That's Neil…or Young Neil as Scott likes to call him. Out of the four of us, he is the youngest. We are all 23 while Neil is 20. He's not in the band though. He just watches us practice. I guess he has nothing better to do. But when your roommate is holding band practice at the house then it is hard not to watch._

"Well we sort of ride the bus, and she tells me about how yearbook club went, and about her friends. And you know, drama…" Scott rattled off as soon, the conversation became a gigantic fish for information that no one cared about.

"Yeah, okay…have you even kissed her?" Stephen asked.

_I don't know what came over me at that second. I suddenly felt anxious to know the answer. But why would I care…the thing between me and that jerk was a long time ago. Maybe it comes with the title of being an 'ex'. _

"We almost held hands once, but she got embarrassed."

_Like I said…never fails to deliver. _"Well don't you seem pleased as punch" I told him, feeling a little bit better about the situation, but not by much.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"So what's her name?"

"Knives Chau. She's Chinese."

_ A Chinese high schooler Scott? I've seen you make some pretty dumb decisions in life. But this has to be the dumbest by far. _

"That's wicked! Where'd you meet her anyways?" Neil asked, leaning over the table like a kid being drawn into the TV.

"I believe I mentioned the bus…?"

_ So then he proceeded to tell us the story of how he met Knives. Apparently he met her during a bus ride home and her mother was pestering her about meeting boys. She probably seen him as a god sent. Scott probably saw her as a rebound girl. As for me? I like to think she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But still, come on Scott. Standards. Even if he did not have a girlfriend for over a year._

"…and that's how we met" He said, trying to act cool about it.

"You met her on the bus with her mom?" Stephen asked.

"Is that seriously the end of that story?" I asked, unsure of what I heard was a combination of BS. Hell, if I didn't know any better, I'm sure this 'Knives' girl doesn't exist.

"Yes."

…_I hate you Scott Pilgrim_

_

* * *

_

"Are you ok Kim?"

I looked up from behind the drum set to see Stephen Stills looking straight at me, hand on his turner.

"Never better." I responded back, looking at my equipment.

_My equipment may be old…and half of it was taken from high school…but it's always been reliable. Unlike someone I can think of._

"Are you going to be ok with Scott bringing Knives here?"

"Sure."

"You know, if she's going to be a distraction I'll tell Scott that she can't stay here-"

"I told you I'll be ok." I said, glaring at him.

"…alright."

_ What's up Stephen all of a sudden? Why would he care of I get distracted by Knives. If anything, he should be worried about Scott being distracted. His bird brain can't handle playing the bass and remembering to look good for his girlfriend._

I felt a pain in my chest.

_ Urg…his girlfriend. This has to be some kind of sick joke. What kind of man would make a high schooler his girlfriend._

"Hey Kim, this is Knives…" Scott's voice suddenly filled the room as I looked over at Knives and Scott.

_So this is Knives Chau. He certainly can do better. For one…she's not that good of a dresser. _

"Hi, sorry. What was your name?"

"Kim Pine"

"You play the drums?"

"…yes…"

_I don't know what is happening to me but I'm starting to feel anxious again. Maybe not anxious…but something else. It couldn't possibly be jealously. I mean, who can be jealous of a 17 year old Chinese girl named Knives? I need to play…I need to play the drums. Playing is my only form of escape from this hectic deathtrap that is life. Are they even ready? Screw it, I don't care. I'll just play something._

"WE ARE SEX BOB-OMB! ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!"

* * *

"I'm cooooold!" Scott whined as we walked down the street, heading to a party hosted by our friend Julie. Well, I guess our ex-friend Julie. She dated Stephen but then they broke up so we're not sure what to make of her…I mean, she's kind of a bitch.

"Whatever. It's like spring out." I reminded him as we continued to walk. It silenced him for a minute, but then he opened his big mouth again.

"Where are we goooing?"

"I told you like fifty time!" Stephen said to him.

"Well, I forgot, ok?"

"Like it's my fault you're stupid?"

I sighed. _Never fails to deliver…_

"So where-"

"I'm seriously not even telling you now." Said a very annoyed Stephen. I knew that wouldn't pacify Scott, so I decided to fill him in.

"We're going to that party, retard."

"At Julie's." Neil added as Scott groaned

"Aw man…"

_One thing I never understood about parties is the quantity of people that come to them. Take for example Julie's party. These all cannot be Julie's friends. Maybe friends of friends…maybe even passing strangers. And yet here they are, eating her food, drinking all of her liquor, talking within their respective groups. How is this the icon of social gatherings when everyone here doesn't even know anyone at the party…aside from Comeau, he knows everyone. _

"Are you ok?"

I looked over to see Stephen standing next to me, arm extending towards me with a bottle of locally brewed beer in his hand. Accepting his offer, I took the beer and took a swing, exhaling rather bitterly as I try to expel the taste out of my mouth.

"The local breweries here know how to brew top quality pond scum." I said as I looked at the label. Just one more beer not to give a second chance. But beer is beer. "So what do you want Stephen?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing with the whole Scott-Knives thing."

"I told you already that I'm ok…." I took another swing at the beer but found myself not liking the bitterness of the beer. "I don't care who Scott dates or pretends to date or even imagines to date."

"Ok…I get it." He said as he stood right next to me, watching the party goers socialize. "I know that you and he once had a thing. And that was a LONG time ago. But you know, those feelings never disappear without a trace." He said as I saw him glance over at his ex-girlfriend Julie. "All I'm saying is…If you need to talk about it, I'm-"

"I get it. Thank you Stephen." I said quickly, taking another sip of my beer. For some reason, it didn't taste bitter that time around. Stephen left and I was lefty by myself again.

_Those words keep echoing in my head. 'Those feeling never disappear without a trace'. How can Stephen know? He's not a psychic or a shrink. What Scott and I have…what Scott and I had…was something simple, something nice, something…something I missed. _

"This is unbelievable" I said aloud as I walked around the house, trying to kill time and escape those thoughts of the past. Suddenly I see Scott and it looks like he's hiding from someone. "What in the world…? Hey, Young Neil. Why is Scott acting like a dumbass again?" I asked him as I pointed at Scott, who was busy hiding behind a group of guys.

"Probably hiding from that girl."

"Who?"

"…uh…that girl." Neil said, pointing at the girl with a ridiculously colored hair. My eyes drooped as I saw Scott's pitiful attempt to stalk her.

"I don't know what's worse. The fact that he's stalking her or that his actually trying to get close enough to talk to another girl after all this time." I shrugged it off though. It wasn't my business to care what Scott does at a party. I just want to sit and drink my beer.

**But you do care about him**

_No I don't_

**So you're ok with him talking to other girls?**

_It's not like he's going to do anything_

**And if he does?**

_He's Scott Pilgrim_

**Exactly…he's Scott Pilgrim**

I took another swing of the bitter beer and exhaled loudly enough for the people around me to scoot away. Maybe If I keep drinking, my conscious would stay silent.

**You can't escape how you feel about him you know…**

_I know_

**So why deny your feelings?**

_Because it will never work out. It didn't before and it will never happen again. Besides, he's seeing another girl so…_

**So you do have feelings for him?**

"What do you think…" I said quietly to myself as I finished the rest of the beer.

* * *

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 1b

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: Thank you for showing interest in the story. I cut the first chapter in two parts just to see if people were interested. The first part that you read is just the pilot. This is the rest of the chapter. So enjoy and please review. If there is anything that you want to see or want me to stress that played an important role in Kim's life then tell me. Most likely I might avoid it and I don't want to miss those key moments. Thank you.

* * *

_What makes us question ourselves? What is that thing that makes our conscious speak out our worries, our hesitancies, and our fears? More importantly, why does it have such a powerful influence on us? You would think we command ourselves and our actions are our own. But really think about it…has there been a time where you already made up your mind, but your conscious suddenly overwhelms your head and you don't know what to do anymore. Well, whether we are prisoners of our own head or not, there is no denying that our subconscious has a tighter hold on ourselves that we give it credit for._

_Case and point…_

Pilgrim 001b

"Hey there Kim. Come on in" Stephen Stills, the talent of our band, said as he stepped aside for me to walk through.

"Is Scott not here yet?" I asked as I took off my heavy coat and placed it on the rack.

_It's been two days since that party and I haven't seen him since then. I guess he's been busy with his fake high school girlfriend to remember that we're his friends too. But I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, if you don't spend time with your own girlfriend then what kind of boyfriend are you? _

…_what kind of boyfriend are you…_

_Simon…_

"Hello?" A voice called from outside the door. I found myself still standing near the coat rack when the voice called out. Realizing I just spaced out in the middle of the doorway, I moved to the couch and sat down, pulling my legs close to my body to keep warm. The voice belonged to Knives Chau, Scott Pilgrim's recent girlfriend and quite possibly one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

_Looks like we're babysitting tonight. At least she's dressed better than when I last saw her. Nice zip up sweater and a plain skirt. Wouldn't have chosen the colors but I guess it's a start. Wait a minute…that sweater. _

I looked down at my own sweater then back at her.

"That's my sweater!" I said, annoyed that we are wearing the same sweater.

"Are you ok?"

I turned my head to see Young Neil standing next to the couch. Stephen was already checking the equipment while Knives watches, asking basic questions about amps and guitars. Figure she's trying to learn as much as she can about how band practice works. My attention went back to Neil who held his precious Nintendo DS in his hand.

"Yeah I'm fine…but I think Knives is biting off me."

"You think?" He asked as I saw him look up at Knives then back at me. "Well your sweaters do look similar…"

"Similar? They're exactly the same Neil!"

"No…no not really look." He pointed as I followed with my eyes. "Hers has a stripe that goes around the wrist and waist. The color is the same…but other than that, not the same sweater."

_Was my mind messing with me again? I could have sworn they were the same. But looking back at Knives and back at my sweater, there is that main difference. Plus I can see the brand too. They aren't the same. Am I going crazy? Or am I just trying to find an excuse to hate her. I shouldn't be quick to judge…Scott picked her for a reason I guess. Maybe I should give her a chance. Or at least get to know her. I mean she….oh son of a bitch here she comes!_

"Hey Kim. Hi Neil." She said, giving a small wave and sitting down on the couch. I brought my legs in closer, trying to avoid any type of contact with her.

"Hey Knives." I said, monotone as I kept by body balled up. There was an uncomfortable silence. There wasn't that much to talk about other than the band or Scott. But hell that I tell her that Scott and I once went out.

"So…" Knives started, looking up at Neil then at me. "How long have you been playing the drums?"

"Since high school."

"Oh…is it hard?"

"Very."

Another uncomfortable silence. Dammit Scott where are you?

"I'm going to go use the restroom. Third door on the left right?" She asked Neil as he nodded. Knives got up and walked down the hall. I could feel Neil and Stephen's gaze fall on me.

"What are you clowns looking at?"

There was another knock at the door. Stephen opened it to reveal the one and only Scott Dumbass and for once, he wasn't wearing his stupid hat he had since high school. There was something different about him this time though…something felt…off about him.

"Hey, is Knives here yet?" Scott asked, looking at Stephen.

"Yeah, she went to the bathroom or something." He responded as he continued to set up the equipment.

We were all here because the talent, Stephen Stills, manage to land us a gig at the Rockit. We'll be playing alongside with another band known as Crash and the Boys. So basically, it's an unannounced Battle of the Bands because…well…to quote Scott 'I hate them.'

"Heyyyyy!" I looked over to see Knives appear from the doorway. My eyes drooped.

_Great…they're going to act all cute now._ But nothing could have prepared me for what was about to happen next. She lunged, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. My eyes widen. My heart stopped. And for the first time in my life I felt really sick. Not just saying 'I think I'm going to be sick' but 'actually thinking that I might vomit and pass out' kind of sick. The kiss didn't last long, and it looks like Scott was totally unprepared for it as he pushed her away after a second of that surprise kiss but I swear it lasted like a minute through my eyes.

"Uh…hey!"

"Hey! Do you like it? I wanted to look good for the show!" Knives responded, obvious talking about her outfit and new haircut.

"I…yes! It looks great! You look like you're…ready to…hit the scene?" Scott said rather hesitantly.

"Thanks!"

_What's wrong with me? Why am I acting like this? Seeing them kiss…it irked the hell out of me. I just wanted to go over there and pull them apart! Like I wanted to yell at them for being so…so…stupid! My heart is racing. I can't get it to slow down. Slow down dammit! Why am I like this? I know they're going out and it was bound to happen sooner or later. And I'm sure Scott wasn't a total loser in college. Maybe he picked up a girl or two…or three. Probably stupid girls. Stupid…easy girls. Stupid easy girls he kissed…cuddled…slept…_

I'm not sure how much time passed but as I refocused on the room, everyone was sitting around a drawing board. Stephen held a twig from a tree and swatted it on the board which read "Crash and the Boys."

"Okay, listen up. As you know, we're playing a show tomorrow with Crash and the Boys."

"Boooo."

Stephen flipped the paper over to reveal a poorly hand-drawn figure with the name 'Crash' written over the top, along with various instruments and plots of data.

"'Crash' Wilson sings and plays guitar."

"And that guy Joel on bass? I hate that guy!" Scott said as he watched him flip the page again to reveal another poorly drawn figure of Joel, the bass player for the band.

"Don't you hate ALL bass players?" I said, stating the obvious.

"Well I don't hate myself, Kim…"

_I suppose I can't blame them. Why like someone that can do the exact same thing you can do? But I guess I shouldn't fret. I mean, it's not like they have a girl drummer. Their drummer is a guy. A terrible drummer at that._

"I found out they got a new drummer recently. Their old guy went insane and lapsed into a coma or something." Stephen said. I raised an eyebrow

_Oh really? A new drummer? Who knows? Maybe this guy can actually hold a beat. God forbid that they actually become good thanks to this new guy. Shame though, their old drummer was hot…_

"So who's the new guy?"

"It's a … girl." Stephen said, rather grimly.

"THEY GOT A GIRL DRUMMER?" I yelled, grinding my teeth in frustration and anger.

"She's their secret weapon!" He started, flipping the page over to show a girl named Trasha. "They call her Trasha and she's eight years old. I hear they discover her at the Pacific Mall arcade. Playing Drum-mania. She has so much A.D.D. it's not even funny."

_Suddenly I found a safe and useful way to channel all that frustration, anger, and even jealously from earlier. I'm going to beat this girl. Show her what true drumming is all about!_

"I hate her so much."

"We'll let's do it! Let's practice! We've got 24 hours!" Scott said, clenching his fist in excitement. For once, in a long time, I actually agreed with him.

_They are going down._

_

* * *

_

24 Hrs Later…

_In the backstage of the Rockit, Scott, Stephen, and I sat while Crash and the Boys went on first. Personally I would like it if they played first. This is the first real show and …well I'm actually kind of scared by the crowd. In the past it's just playing in front of our own peers, maybe even in front of parent. But those people are supposed to like you, no matter how bad you are. These people on the other hand…those judging eyes…their acute hearing…let's just say I'm not use to big crowds. _

"Good Evening. I am Crash and these are the Boys."

"IS THAT GIRL A BOY, TOO?"

"Yes!"

_We practiced all night even in the morning. I got this… _I thought to myself as I spun the drum stick around my fingers. _There is nothing to be nervous about-_

"This is called 'I am so sad. I am so very very sad' and it goes a little something like this. ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!"

Suddenly, there was blast of music. I snatched the stick so I wouldn't drop it. But as I listen some more…nothing came.

_ Was that seriously the end of their song?_

"You're all too kind."

"These guys are good." Stephen said aloud, head in his hand. I'm not sure if he was being sarcastic or…

"IT'S NOT A RACE, GUYS!"

"This song is for the guy who keeps yelling from the balcony, and it's called 'we hate you, please die.' ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!"

Then suddenly, more racket echoed from the stage to the backstage. The rhythm, the beat, the lyrics…it was so…OFF! I couldn't stand it. Just listening to what they're playing is making my head hurt.

"This is a travesty." Stephen said, trying to zone out the noise as best as he could.

"Well Knives and Neil are out there. Maybe they'll spread rumors about how we rock, and people will think we rock!" Scott said, arms behind his head relaxing. How he's relaxing when this God forsaken music is echoing in the room is something I'll never know. His relaxing was starting to annoy me.

"Did you notice how Knives started dressing like me?" I asked Scott, hoping he would have noticed the change in clothes from his girlfriend. _Urg…girlfriend…_

"What? No. Really?"

_Never fails to deliver…_

"She's, like, you know, biting my style? She started wearing that jacket, and then the skirts—"

"This song is called 'zog'! ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!" Crash's voice yelled and then more blasted noise came from the stage. I found myself stopping in mid sentence. The music was too painful to carry a conversation. Even if it's about Scott's dumb girl.

"They're a menace to society." Stephen rattled off.

"This song is called 'last song kills audience', and it'll be our last song tonight…FOR YOU ALL! EYAAHAHAHAHHAA! ONE, Two, THREE, FOUR!"

I raised an eyebrow as his voice came from the stage. "They they serious?"

"They can't be serious."

"Nah, I've seen them do this before. It actually just knocks most of the audience unconscious for like 20-30 minutes."

"We have to PLAY next!" I yelled at Stephen, grabbing his shirt and pulling on it. _If what he said was true, that means we'll be playing to a smaller crowd than normal. I can play. I can play GREAT without those judging eyes! Although we won't get much buzz for our band, this is the break I needed._

"BABY I WAS BORN TO DESTROY YOU!"

* * *

"Good luck, eh?" Joel said to us as they walked pass the backstage.

"Thanks, Joel." Stephen replied, trying to be courteous.

"Good luck!" Said Trasha, particularly waving at me. I shot a glare right back at her. Couldn't be as courteous as Stephen. This was war afterall. At least for me.

We all got on stage with our instruments and as far as the eyes could see, a good majority of the audience was knocked out thanks to Crash and the Boys. All of our friends were still up. And by the looks of it, Scott's sister, Stacy, was pulling Wallace Wells, Scott's gay roommate, off of her boyfriend. Only in Canada I suppose. I took my position behind the drum set, placing my foot on the pedal and a pair of drum sticks in my hand ready to rock out.

_ This is great. Now it feels like we're playing to friends and a few spectators. I can do this!_

"Alright…you ready?" Stephen asked.

"Sure."

"We're playing to corpses, anyways, so let's go." I said, lifting my hands in the air.

"Okay. Count it in."

"WE ARE SEX BOB-OMB!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!"

"You never even—"

Then there was a crash and before I knew it, a guy…or a pirate…or something was heading towards the stage. And by the look on his face. He was NOT happy to see us.

"Mr. Pilgrim! It is I, Matthew Patel! Consider our fight…BEGUN!"

_What the hell is going on? Who is this guy? What does he want with Scott? Are they going to fight? Is karma FINALLY going to kick Scott in the ass? No…this is something else. Knowing Scott he must have gotten himself into some real trouble after the party or something. I have to find out what…_

"Guys, get off the stage." Scott said, suddenly taking a stance and extending his arm outward to ward us away. I felt my heart leap.

_Scott was fighting to protect us…? Just like in high school? The fight…between Scott and Simon…_

Scott manages to block the incoming attack and deliver a straight punch counter to the jaw of Matthew Patel.

"Watch out! It's that one guy!"

"Ok, thank you, Wallace!"

Scott dropped down and kicked him in the air. And if you know Scott like I do, it only meant one thing when he does that.

"He's going for the air juggle!" Stephen yelled

"This guy is such toast. Doesn't he know that Scott's the best fighter in the province?" I said to Stephen, not really expecting an answer. It was true though. When we were in high school, Scott was untouchable. The jocks and bullies would try to pick fights with him, hearing the rumors of how strong he is. And in good Scott Pilgrim fashion…

_He never fails to deliver. Kick his ass Scott!_

"45, 46…"

"64 hits!"

"That's a new personal best, Scott!" Wallace called from the balcony.

"So, Pilgrim, you're as good as they say." Matthew said, panting a bit as he just got a flurry of punches in the face.

"Who the hell are you anyways?" Scott asking the million dollar question.

"My name is Matthew Patel…and I'm Ramona's first evil ex-boyfriend."

I stared at him for a minute.

_What the hell? Who's Ramona? Her first evil ex-boyfriend? Who would even want to place that title on themselves? Why does he have a beef with Scott anyways? Did he date a Ramona in the past?_

So many questions was filling my head as I continued to watch the bout between Scott and Matthew but soon a new voice filled the stage. It was coming from a girl with oddly colored hair. A girl that I vaguely remember. The only familiar thing is the hair. I don't know who she is or why she's here. And for that matter, why she was up there next to Stacy and Wallace. Maybe they're friends? Or…?

"It was in seventh grade." She started, standing up and leaning against the rail. Her voice was serious, but somehow soothing at the same time. I suddenly felt drawn to her story because of it. "It was football season, and the little jocks were in high gear. For some reason they all wanted me. Matthew Patel was the only non-white, non-jock kin in school. Probably the only one for miles around, or in the entire state, for all I know. So of course…" She tilted her head to the side. I could only imagine that means that they kissed or something. "We joined forces and took 'em all out. We were one hell of a team. Nothing could beat Matthew's mystical powers combined with my brute strength. Nothing but pre-adolescence capriciousness." Ramona took a deep breath and let it out. "We kissed the once, and we were quits after sometime like a week and a half. He didn't get really evil until high school, and by that time he'd moved far far away."

I blinked a few time, trying to process the story that was just force fed down my throat. Thankfully Scott, was paying attention and asked the question that I was thinking halfway through the story.

"Dude wait…mystical powers?"

"Y-you'll pay for this Flowers!" He yelled as he leaped backwards. Pointing his finger to the sky, he summoned fire that completely engulfed his hand, along with 5 or 6 demon hipster-looking chicks. "If you want to fight me. You're not the brightest!"

I felt my stomach sink.

_Urg…he can summon fire AND rhyme? What a terrible combo. Wait…Scott's not good at fighting people with fire! That one time in high school he won due to the sprinkler system! There's no sprinkler system here! The Rockit is known to be a huge toilet with no fire escape or fire code!_

I looked over at Scott and jumped by his side. As I looked around, Stephen, Stacy, Neil, Wallace, and even Knives where right behind Scott. They were all here to help him. To suppose him…to fight alongside with him. I glared at Matthew feeling the beast within me start to roar.

_Matthew Patel, you have messed with the wrong man. You will not beat Scott Pilgrim, for whatever reason you have against him. We will defend and fight for him!_

"You won't know what hit you in the slightest!" Scott said, pointing his finger in a retro Saturday Night Fever pose.

_…Oh God Scott PLEASE don't play along too…I take back everything I said._

"Fireballs, girls. Take these suckers out!" Matthew rhymed as they fired their fireballs at us. My eyes widen. Hopefully we'll survive this attack. If we do…Scott owns me one!

"Let me show you what it's all about." He said as he crossed his arms to brace for the attack. We all copied him and the attack were blocked by the combined strength of our braced block. "You and your fireballs and your demon hipster chicks. You're talking the talk and it's all pretty slick."

_S-L-ick! …dammit Scott! Now I REALLY HATE YOU_

"You think you're so great, but you're missing the point. You gotta have friendship and courage and whatever!" Scott said, pointing his fingers toward Matthew like a gun. I, on the other hand, stared at Scott with disbelieve.

_Wow. Rhyming fail there Scott_

"That doesn't even rhyme!"

"Shut up!"

Suddenly Matthew Patel was stunned. Whether it was the power of music, the power of friendship, or just the power of Scott's inability to create a decent rhyme, Scott took this opportunity to go for the knockout punch.

"This is impossible. How can this be!" Matthew said, holding onto his head.

"Open your eyes up…" Scott said, jumping towards Matthew. There was no way for him to dodge. He closed the gap way too fast for Matthew to retaliate. It was over. "Maybe you'll see!" Scott yelled, landing a solid punch on Matthew, causing him to shatter into coins which fell on the ground below. I felt a look of satisfaction spread across my face.

_He did it….he did it! Nice going Scott! I knew you could take on a pirate pretty boy like him no problem! Now time to figure out what that was all about…_

I looked over just to catch a glimpse of Scott and the mysterious Ramona run out of the club.

"What the…Scott? SCOTT!" I yelled as the door closed behind them. I let out a sigh as I felt a hand on my shoulder. Wallace patted my shoulder a couple of time as he walked right beside me.

"Don't worry about it too much. He has a knack of disappearing like that."

"Yeah. No kidding…" I said, looking towards the ground where the remains of Matthew Patel would have been if Scott left the money. "He does like to disappear all of a sudden…"

"We did well out there. Probably would have gotten hurt without us, you know." Wallace told me as he walked towards the rest of the group.

_ I know that. Hell, I'm sure he would have been fine without my help. I mean he had Knives, Wallace, Stephen, Neil, and even his own sister Stacy to back him up. I just jumped in because he was a band mate._

**Is that all?**

_No…leave me alone! _

**What a pal. What a friend! To get into harm's way because he's just a band mate.**

_He's also one of my friends!_

**Oh yes…of course he's one of your friends. You were really close friends. Friends that shared a lot of things.**

_Shut up!_

**Friends who walked to class together…**

_SHUT UP!_

**Friends who would talk about nothing but find the conversation very entertaining.**

_SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!_

**A friend who lets her wear his shirt because she found it a hassle to put on something that fitted her nicely.**

_Please…_

**Why did you run in to save Scott if he was just a 'band mate?'**

_I don't…_

"KIM! Are you coming or what?" I heard Stephen's voice call as they were already heading out of the Rockit. I wiped away a tear as I tried to regain my composure.

"Yeah…yeah I'm coming…" I said as I turned around to look back at the remains of the stage. But when I turned back, I saw something standing there on stage. No one else seemed to have seen it as they picked up the instruments and walked passed it. It was only for a moment…but I swear

…

I thought I saw myself up there.

* * *

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 2a

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing my story. Your reviews are definitively a motivator for me to get the next chapter out ASAP. Especially this chapter since a lot of things happens to Kim that I'm sure most, if not, all of you are excited to see how she would react in a personal level. This chapter has been broken up into parts because I want to get as much detail in this book that if I keep it one story, it'll just be a wall of text and no one will read. Thank you again for reading, please review, and if you have any questions please put it in the review. I'll be more than happy to answer them. (No spoilers though.)

Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.

* * *

"Come on Kim!" A voice called as I felt a tug on my arm, forcing me to walk forward faster than my normal pace. The girl pulling on me was about my height with brown shoulder-length hair. She was wearing a purple plaid skirt that went down to her knees, black stockings, and a white blouse with a black long sleeve sweater over it. On the left side of her sweater was an iron-on patch that had a purple J with a matching purple boarder surrounding it. It looks silly, but I guess I can't complain. Afterall, it was the uniform for St. Joel's Catholic High School in Northern Ontario…and we're all forced to wear it.

"Why? The sooner we get there the sooner we're force to age away at our seats…" I said, taking off my sweater. The weather was actually nice enough to walk around with just the school uniform blouse and skirt.

"Oh come on…of all the people to say that I didn't expect it to come from you. You're one of the smartest out of our class!" The girl said as she came back and walked right beside me. I couldn't help but feel good about myself after receiving a complement like that.

"Well, I am the smart one aren't I?" I said, trying to be as smug as I can but then the girl pushed me playfully.

"It's one to be proud, but you don't have to gloat about it."

"Excuse me?"

Just then, a gust of cold wind blew across the street. I felt the fabric if my sweater slip through my fingers as I braced myself to keep warm. I watched as my sweater fall out of my hand and roll a couple of feet away from where that girl and I were standing.

"Hold on Lauren, let me get my sweater…" I said, remembering the girl's name but not receiving the thought that I ever forgot it in the first place. As I walked over to where my sweater was, I noticed a pool of water next to it. Curiosity took over as I looked at my own reflection.

_It's me…it's me 7 years ago. This is my old uniform…_

I reached up and felt my hair. Ponytail…

_My ponytail…I haven't had a ponytail this longs since… I'm back in high school….is this a dream!_

Pilgrim 002a:

"Kim!"

"What?" I said suddenly as I found myself looking at my reflection in the mirror. We were in the girl's bathroom at school. Lauren was already halfway out the door, holding it open for me to go through. I didn't know how or what was going on, but I felt a strong inclination to follow Lauren around. As if my free will was gone and I was mounted on a rail system forced to follow a specific, predestined path.

"So…what do you think?" Lauren asked obliviously but somehow I understood what she meant. I walked out of the girl's room and walked by her side, heading to class.

"I don't know…" I said, almost responding from a predetermined script. It felt like this has happened before. All of it. Almost like déjà vu. Why couldn't I say anything else? Why can't I control MY own thoughts? It feels like I'm a prisoner…a prisoner in my own head by this dream Kim.

"Come on! You should do it!" Lauren said, nudging me on the side of my body. "It's one of those things you have to have do before you graduate from high school."

"What? Lose my virginity?"

"NO! Get a boyfriend! This is the time where you should be interested in boys and this guy…this guy is the smartest guy in our class!"

"Hey! I thought you said _I_ was the smartest in the class!" I said, now playfully pushing Lauren off to the side.

"You are but…he's just super smart you know? Not like academic…but worldly. He could survive if he was lost in a forest." Lauren said as we approach the classroom where we had history together.

"You know, the more I talk to you the more you act and sound like my parents. And I really don't like my parents…" I warned her as she held the doorknob to the classroom, preparing to open the door at any minute.

"Come on Kim…you know I'm right…" She said to me as I walked over and moved her hand aside from the doorknob. I gripped it myself and turned it, pushing it open and walking through.

"Yeah, but with Simon Lee?" I asked, keeping eye contact with her as I walked. I turned my head forward to realize that I was not in a classroom. In fact I wasn't on the school grounds anymore. I was at the park near my home, standing in the middle of the grass. I turned around to see that the door behind me has disappeared as well as Lauren. But that was not the reason I turned around. At least it did not feel like that was the reason. It felt like I was actually looking for someone…and making sure no one I knew was around.

"Kim?"

I turned my head to see a Chinese boy with think black frame glasses. He looked at me through those windows, looking shocked to see me. He was wearing the St. Joel's Catholic High School uniform for guys; white collared shirt, long sleeve sweater and black khaki pants. I clenched my fist, crumpling the letter that was suddenly in my hand, as I walked towards Simon.

"I can't believe it. You're actually here…you…!"

"Shhh." I said, look down at my feet.

"Well, does that mean you…that you…"

I said nothing. I raised my hand and looked at the letter that was almost a ball of paper now. I unwrinkled it, trying to get it back to its normal condition but I knew it was impossible. We both stood there. I felt Simon's gaze on my head, expecting that I would look up at him to make eye contact. But my sight was fixed on the letter that I found in my locker three days ago, addressed to me, written about me, wanting me.

"Did you mean it?"

"What?"

"Did you mean what you wrote?" I asked him, finally making eye contact with him.

"Y-yes. But you know…I don't know what I was thinking. I mean a girl like you…a girl like you wouldn't want to be with a guy…a guy like me." I heard him reply as he turned his body away from me. I sensed his hesitance as he started to turn around. I made my move. I reach over and grab hold of his sweater. He stopped suddenly, turning his head towards me as I kept eye contact with him.

"…No one has ever paid that much attention to me. Did you mean what you wrote?" I repeated myself.

"Every word." He whispered in my ear. I felt weak. Like something was sucking away my strength.

"Soooooo?"

I turned around to see Lauren sitting at our usual lunch table. I wasn't at the park anymore. The letter in my hand had vanished. In its place, a tray with a plate of mash potatoes, peas, and the mystery meat that the lunch lady served today. Everyone at St. Joel's was trying to find a place to eat their lunch as talking with their friends about the latest gossip or the last test they took. Lauren and I had our own lunch table to sit at. Well, it wasn't officially ours but no one else sat at it, except for Simon.

"Soooooo?" Lauren repeated as she stared at me. "Are you going to sit or are you going to eat standing up?"

"Come on Kim, sit. We have much to talk about the project in history." Simon said, already sitting down and working on the mystery meat. I mindlessly sat down next to him, leaning on him slightly for the warmth of his body and for the closeness.

"Here's what I'm thinking. I think we should do a report on….where the battle of…and then there is…" Simon said to me, but I couldn't understand pieces of the conversation. Like I couldn't remember what he said. "Besides, we need this A. Anything else would be a travesty. And besides, I will be on top of the class with my perfect 4.0." He gloated as I felt my eye form a glare.

"Please…I'm going to be on top this year. I specifically remember someone getting an A- on their last test and someone else getting a perfect score."

"That's because you fed me lies! Having a study session with you only made me dumber!"

"All's fair in love and grades Simon." I said to him, taking a spoonful of mash potatoes and putting it in my mouth. I closed my eyes, happily chewing on my food.

"I swear, you two are the only couple in the world that would fight over the better grade. It's kinda nauseating."

She could say whatever she wanted. For once in my life I felt complete, whole, …happy… and it was all thanks to…

"SIMON!" I yelled, opening my eyes to find myself standing outside his house, facing the street. My vision was fixed on the car that drove faster and faster away from the house. In the back of the car was Simon Lee. In the trunk? Boxes. Lots and lots of boxes.

"It's not the end you know…" I voice said over my shoulder. I didn't turn around. I didn't want to turn around. I didn't want her to see me like this. "So he's moving away to another district and different school. You guys agreed to long distance. I mean, it's not like you guys broke up. You have to cheer up Kim." Lauren's voice said as I felt a hand on my shoulder. "You'll be able to see each other every weekend at the Dufferin Mall. That was the agreement."

I still didn't turn around. I felt the presence of that hand get warmer and more comforting as I felt tears fall from my eyes. Sniffling, I looked up to see that I was now sitting in the food court of Dufferin Mall. He didn't come that week…

…or the week after that…

…or the week after that…

I looked at the seat beside me. Empty as usual. It remained empty for many days.

"Kimberly Pine?" the voice of the teacher called. I looked forward to see that I was back in my geography class. The teacher was now calling roll. I raised my hand to indicate I was present and I saw him mark me down on his roll sheet. I lowered my hand and stared blankly at my notebook. I opened the cover to reveal letters from Simon, mostly apologizing for not being able to make it to the mall. Instead, he's decided to just write to me. It didn't feel right though. This wasn't enough. This wasn't him actually being here for me.

"New kid…Uhh, you're with Kimberly, okay?" The teacher said as I looked up instinctively as I heard my name get called. My vision of the teacher got blocked by a guy with light brown hair. He moved to the empty seat and placed his backpack on the shared table.

"Hi." I said as I watched him sit where Simon use to sit.

"Hi. What are we doing?" He asked as I looked at all the books opened on my side of the table. I picked up my pencil and gave it a twirl before responding.

"It's some retarded partner thing, and you'll probably slack right off and I'll end up doing all the work." I said, basically calling him out on what he'll ultimately do. They've done it in the past. Team up with the bookworm to score an easy A.

"Uhh…nice to meet you. I'm Scott" He said, looking at me with calm eyes.

"The pleasure's all mine." I said as I took my pencil and tossed it into the air. I caught my pencil and looked down at the desk to see a hand drawn map of Russia in front of me. I rubbed my eyes as I looked over at Scott's work on the project. To much of my horror, the side of Russia that Scott was drawing was horribly inaccurate and very ugly. I rubbed my temples as I had to put up with this for almost a month.

"You suck at drawing, don't you?" I asked him, pulling the map of Russia towards me so I can try to fix his side.

"Maps are hard! I could draw it really good if it was a sheep." Scott argued. I glared at him.

"A sheep? Are you serious? Draw me a sheep!" Scott pulled out a clean sheet of paper and proceeded to draw his sheep. Halfway through his drawing he stopped, pondered for a second, and then turned to me.

"I forget, do sheep have curly tails, or is that pigs?"

"That's the worst sheep I've ever seen!" I said, but not angrily, laughingly. It was the ugliest sheep I've ever seen, but I can't help but smile as his stupid drawing.

"What are you talking about? This is such a good sheep!" He said as I continued to fix the drawing of Russia. There was a pause between us. Neither of us said anything. Maybe he was working on another map, I didn't know. What I did know was the battle that was raging inside me. I don't despise the guy…which says a lot. I haven't felt this way towards another guy since…

Since…

"You hang out with that girl Lisa all the time, eh?" I asked him, holding my pencil getting ready to throw it in the air again.

"I guess."

"Are you guys, like, going out?" I asked, tossing my pencil in the air.

Without looking, I caught it back in my hand. But it wasn't a pencil anymore. It was a drum stick. I wasn't in geography anymore. I was sitting behind the school drum set, almost ready to perform to the student body. With me was the pride and joy of St. Joel's Catholic High School, the school band. Consisting of all sorts of stringed, wind, and brass instruments, this was by far the largest collection of random people you'll ever see. And I was a part of it…why?

"Kim? I didn't know you were in the school band!" Lauren said, somehow backstage where no one but faculty and band mates can be.

"Lauren!" I whispered, "You're not supposed to be back here!"

"Why are you in the band?"

"…you know how you said that I should find a way to beat out my frustration?"

"So you picked beating it out on the school drum set? You know half of these people are…bad." She whispered as I looked over at the rest of the band. Within the first ten seconds I saw people disassembling their flutes, removing strings from their violins, and using their clarinets to scratch their backs.

"…I like playing the drums ok? It kinda grew on me. Now go away before you get us both in trouble!"

"Fine fine. Just do your best. That cute guy over there is checking you out."

I looked at where Lauren's finger was pointed to see Scott Pilgrim staring rather intently at me. "If you think he's cute I'll introduce him to you. Just get lost!" I said as I saw her duck down. The instructor walked to the podium and faced towards the crowd.

"Thank you for coming to see us…" He started, expecting to receive a warm welcome to the student body. Instead, he got silence. "I er…it is my honor to conduct St. Joel's Catholic High School's pride and joy, the St. Joel's school band!"

Again…silence.

"Uh…Kimberly? Will you please?" He pleaded.

"We are St. Joel's Catholic High School band. One. Two. Three. Four…"

But instead of hearing a crash of random notes being played, I got startled by what sounded like a locker being closes really hard. I blinked a few times and found myself walking alongside with Laruen down the hallways of the school, taking a path that would soon be engraved in my brain forever. At the end of the path, I saw Scott just finish putting his books away in his locket.

"Hey Scott." I said as he turned to see me.

"Oh, hi. Um, yeah, so, presentation on Monday, right?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, it'll be fine." I said, trying to get him to relax a little. Ever since we met and after the sheep incident, it's always been about the project. We've never really talked like friends…I'm not even sure if he sees me as a friend.

"Oh, this is Lauren. Lauren, Scott. We have geography together." I said, pointing to my friend.

"Hello."

There was a moment of silence. The way she was looking at him…the way he was looking at her. It didn't feel right to me. But why would I care who he looks at. I mean, I'm not his keeper or anything. And I definitely don't care who he looks at. Besides…I have a boyfriend…right?

"So I'll see you on Monday, okay? First period!" I said as I dragged my drooling friend away from him and lead her down the hall.

"Yeah for sure!" He called back, waving.

"What's that about Kim? Are you jealous?" Lauren asked me as I tugged her along.

"I'm not jealous…"

"Well you shouldn't be. You have Simon."

"…about that…"

I continued to walk down the hallways when I realized that the title pattern changed on me. I looked up to see that I was no longer at St. Joel's but at Benvie Tech High School, long rivals of our school. Still wearing my school uniform, everyone was giving me dirty looks. If I wanted answers, I knew this is where they are…because he was here. He's the only one that can help me now…

"Let's see…up these stairs and…" I said to myself as I climbed several flights of stairs to get to the rooftop of the school. I opened the door and there, stood Simon, in his new school uniform. I didn't know how I should feel. Overjoyed because this is our first time meeting in a long time? Hatred for him because all he would do is send me letters about how school is over here and how much he wishes he we back in my school? Confusion of why he isn't making sacrifices to see me while I'm here, sacrificing my project grade, just to see him. I wasn't sure what I felt when I saw him. But he walked towards me, wrapped his arms around me, and smiled.

"Oh Kim…I've missed you so much…"

I didn't hug him back.

"You have no idea how much it means to me that you're here now…"

I didn't even say anything to him yet.

"It's been terrible here…the food is terrible, the classes are terrible, the students are terrible, everything is just…terrible without you."

"…Simon…I…" I started, suddenly knowing what I wanted after all these months. I came here looking for answers, and finally I got them. It only took a visit from the past to realize what I wanted. "Simon, I want to break up."

His embrace became light.

"It's not going to work out…"

"…what?"

"There's another guy…" I started, feeling his presence move away from me. "…he's a good guy. He's a hard worker. Not the smartest or the best drawer but there's something about him. I can't put my finger on it."

"You're breaking up with me?"

I couldn't bear to look up at his face.

"It's not like we've had any contact ever since you moved…"

"…the letters."

"Spiritual support, but that's not what I want now."

"What do you want?"

I took a deep breath.

"I want someone to be there for me!"

Just as I said it, the door leading to the staircase got kicked down. There stood Scott Pilgrim, uniform torn and fist clenched. He stared viciously at Simon as Simon began to walk backwards away from Scott and me.

"Kim!" Scott yelled as he walked right beside me.

"Let her go, Simon. I've defeated all your evil bosses. You're finished!"

"Took you long enough…" Simon said, looking up at us. His eyes were empty. He was the hollow shell of the man. His expression of sorrow, lost of hope, the will to live…it would forever be burned into my memory. It was if he was looking at the grim reaper and he was expecting his arrival.

"Scott…" I said as I saw him approach Simon, fist still clenched. "…this sucks."

Simon stared blankly at the man that will soon destroy him and made a wicked smile at him.

"This is the best St. Joel's could muster?" He taunted, knowing that there was no escape from the pain he was already suffering. The pain he was about to feel was nothing compared to what he was feeling before Scott came.

"That's not what you're mom said last night!" He yelled as he cocked back a punch. "You're going down Simon!" In that instant, Simon threw up his arms in self defense, hoping that it would absorb the blow. It was if in that instant he realize he was in real danger and the pain that was about to come was WAY worse that what I did to him.

"Mercy! Please! I've been a fool!"

But it was too late. Scott hit him square in the face that his glasses broke in half and his nose bent the other direction. I couldn't watch. I couldn't take it. I closed my eyes and wait for the sound of punching to stop. After what seemed like five minutes, I felt someone get close to me. I uncovered my face to see Scott next to me, dripping wet. I've been zoning out everything around me that I failed to realize that it was raining outside. The way Scott looked at me. I couldn't help but to feel embarrassed. But I couldn't shake this feeling that the reason he came for me was because of the presentation.

"You only came because of the presentation…" I said as I turn around and walked away from him.

"I came because of you." He yelled out loud. It stopped me in my tracks. "I came because you didn't show up to school. Your friend Lauren told me that you were going coming here. She filled me in about Simon." I just stood there, slowly getting drenched from the rain. Taking a deep breath, I turned around to see him.

"I didn't know who'd rescue me from that _maniac_," I said sarcastically, knowing that Scott had no trouble with him "But I secretly hope it would be you, Scott." Scott walked closer to me, reaching for my hand. I raise my hand to meet his and laced my fingers with his. Suddenly the cold rain didn't feel so cold anymore.

"I like you, Kim." He said, giving my hand a squeeze. "We should be dating."

I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Also, do you want to play drums in my band?"

My heart skipped another beat.

"Yes, Scott! Oh, yes!"

We shared our first kiss that day, in the pouring rain. I felt that wonderful feeling again. The feeling of being wanted, being whole, being happy. I closed my eyes as I continued to kiss Scott, every kiss filling my soul with the thing it's been craving for all these years. That there is someone else in this world that want to be with you. I opened my eyes to see me, Scott, Lisa, and Kimberly heading back to my place for band practice and video games. As I turned my head, I saw the teacher approach Scott and me at our table in school. He handed us back our project and Scott and I high fived each other for getting an A on our report. I turned again and found myself staring at a movie screen, leaning up against Scott as we both got needed leisure time from all the band practice and school projects. I closed my eyes once more, tapping my feet. Soon the tapped didn't sound like a foot tapping the ground, but a pair of drum sticks hitting each other. I opened my eyes to see the entire student body crowding around the stage we were on. Scott was on bass guitar, Lisa was on guitar, and I was on drums. We were at Lunchapalooza, a school held talent show in which Lisa wanted to us to perform. I didn't mind…I was doing what I always wanted to do…with the guy that understands me the most and one of my most trusted friends. I raised my sticks in the air, closed my eyes, and shouted at the top of my lungs…

"WE ARE SONIC AND KNUCKLES! ONE TWO THREE FOUR!"

And in that second, I expected to hear a loud echoing note that would blow everyone away. But it never came. Instead the soft sound of a harmonica echoed in my head. I opened my eyes but closed them right away after feeling the soft kisses on my neck from Scott. I let out a soft moan as I peered around to figure out where I am. We were in the back of a borrowed car, most likely one of Lisa's friends, with a blanket over us. The song "By Your Side" was playing from the radio and I could feel Scott's naked body press up against mine. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him tight, running my hands through his hair and down his back. The music was so perfect…

"Listen to this song." I whispered to him. "It's a really good song…" I said, eyes still closed as I felt his body. "Oh Scott….Scott…"

…

"Scott?"

I opened my eyes to see Scott and me standing outside. It was the dead middle of the night and I was feeling uneasy all of a sudden. Scott wouldn't look me in the eyes when I called his name. We both stood there in silence.

"Lisa said you were moving away…" I said, breaking the silence. Scott didn't say anything. He stood there, looking at the ground.

"Is it true?"

Still nothing.

"Scott…please talk to me. Tell me." I said, starting to feel annoyed by Scott's silence.

"Scott Pilgrim! Tell me you're not moving away! Tell me that I wasn't going to be the LAST to know about this! TELL ME YOU WERE GOING TO TELL ME!" I yelled angrily at him. He said nothing. Instead he turned around started walking home. I fell on my knees.

"No…no. Please…no. Scott. Scott!"

He kept walking.

"SCOTT!"

**When you're awake…I'm your prisoner inside your head. **

I felt someone behind me at that moment. But I dared not turn around.

**But when you're asleep…the tables turn. In your dreams, you're MY prisoner.** **This is the world I live in. This is what I have to see every day. What I feel every day. What I have to put up with every day.**

Suddenly I felt like I was in control of my actions again. I could hear my own thoughts, felt like I had my own voice. I was in control of my dream self. I shut my eyes and thought hard.

_Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up…_

**You can pray that this never happened…you pushed these thoughts way back in your head hoping they would just…disappear. **

_Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up…_

**But the more you deny it, the more the past will come back to haunt you…**

_WAKE UP!_

**Why can't you just accept it?**

"NOOOOOO!" I shot up from my bed, panting hard. I looked around and saw that I was back in my own room, in my own bed. My body was covered in sweat as I felt my heart. It was beating so fast and my breathing was so rapid it felt like I was going to pass out at any second. I reached for my bottle of water I kept beside my bed and took a sip to calm down my nerves.

_What the hell was that? What kind of dreaming was that? No control of my dream self. Force to watch my past and make the same mistakes…that was no ordinary dream. That was…_

"KIM! SHUT THE HELL UP! IF YOU'RE HAVING SEX WITH SOME GUY NAME 'SCOTT' IN THERE TELL HIM TO SHUT THE HELL UP TOO!" Sara yelled from the behind the wall.

_I hate my roommates….but still._ I wiped the sweat off my forehead and just sat there for a minute. I turned to look at my night stand. Framed in a black frame was a picture of a poorly drawn sheep. It was never dated or signed, because the artist never finished it.

_Why would I dream about that?_

_

* * *

_

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 2b

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: Thank you once again for reading and reviewing my story. Please continue to give back feedback. Any kind of criticism or praise is definitely a welcoming sight. I'll rename the chapters once I think of an appropriate title for them. So thanks again, please review, and enjoy the second installment of Through My Eyes.

**Please note** that I stop chapter segments after 5k words or so. It's just to make the story easier to read.

Possible story after I complete this story is doing Ramona's POV…but we'll see once I finish this one.

Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.

To the** 500+ visitors** that has read my story, thank you again. **869 hits** and counting.

* * *

I couldn't stay in my room. I had to get some fresh air. I grabbed my coat and quietly walked out of my apartment. It was a cool night. The moon was full and the street was illuminating from the combination of the street and moon light. I took a deep breath and let it out, watching my warm breath dissipate into the night sky. I was not one to think that dreams where symbolic or anything, but this one definitely shook me to my foundation. I looked at my watch for the time, hoping it wasn't too late to see someone.

_Damn, it's almost three in the morning. I'm pretty sure no one will be awake by now…_

I sighed as a cool breeze past my body. I shivered and looked back at my apartment.

_I could go back…_

I took a step towards the apartment but found myself unable to take the second step. I couldn't move. My body wouldn't allow me to go back. Soon I found myself shivering not from the cold, but from fear.

_I can't go back. I need to talk to someone. Anyone…_

I turned around and started walking down the street. To who's house, I wasn't sure. I just needed to get away from here. Away from this apartment. Away from the dreams.

Pilgrim 002b:

I found myself in front of Stephen Stills' house. I stared at the wooden door for maybe a good minute before finally working up the courage to give it two hard knocks.

_Stephen wanted to talk to me before about this. Now that I'm ready to talk, I hope he still wants to listen. Come on Stephen, open the door._

I hit the door three times with a clenched fist.

_Come on Stephen, please be awake…_

Still no response. I started to feel alone again. No one to come help me in my time of need. No one here to listen to my problem. I slammed the door five more times with my fist, almost loud enough to wake the dead. Soon the door open and Stephen Stills was looked down at me with a blank expression. I stared up at him, face full of worry and regret for waking him so early in the morning.

_Oh my god. He probably doesn't want to deal with me right now. It's so late. I knew this was a bad idea. I should just keep walking and…_

Just then I saw Stephen open the door wider and stepped aside, inviting me in with no words. Keeping the silence, I walked in and made my way to the couch. I curled up in my ball as I watched Stephen walk over and sit down on the opposite side.

"Are you ok Kim?" He asked as I shook my head. "Do you need anything?"

I looked over at him and tried to find my voice. "Don't suppose you have cookies 'n cream ice cream." I squeaked. He didn't say anything but he got up and walked towards his kitchen. A minute later he came back with a pint of ice cream and a spoon. I felt a little better as he handed me my favorite comfort food.

"So what are you doing here at…3:15 in the morning Kim? Did you get into a fight with you roommates again?"

I shook my head.

"Is this about that fight at the Rockit?"

I shook my head again.

"…Scott?"

I didn't respond. I just took a spoonful of ice cream and shoveled it into my mouth. I felt Stephen get up and moved closer to me.

"Look. Scott is an idiot. We all know that. And what he's doing with Knives is probably beyond what either of us can comprehend. Not to mention that fight that broke out at the Rockit. I swear if I see him right now I would punch him in the face. We almost got banned because of that incident."

"It's not about that…" I said, placing the spoon down.

"Then what's wrong?"

I took a deep breath as I stared into the pint of cookies 'n cream ice cream. "I don't talk about it a lot. And for the most part I want people to not know…but I use to date Scott back in high school. You already knew that I know but…tonight I had a dream about it. And not like a quick play of what happen but a full length experience of how we met, what we did, our entire history of…"

But then I felt a hand on my shoulder as Stephen gave me a warm squeeze. I didn't realize it, but I found myself crying. I raised my hand to my face to see if it's real. In fact, they were real...and they were steadily coming down. "No…no. Please don't get me wrong." I pleaded as Stephen handed me a tissue. "It's not that I love the guy. It's just it felt so real. All the things that happened felt so real. Those feelings I had back then felt real. And when he left me…those feelings I had back then…it kinda spooked me, you know?" I said, wiping away the tears.

"I think I understand." Stephen said as he released my shoulder and laid back into the couch. "I had a dream like that once. It was about Julie. It was around the time I was in college and…" He started but then a blank stare conquered his face. I raised my eyebrow at him as it looked like a fight was breaking out inside his head.

"Uh…Stephen?"

"JULIE!" he yelled, gripping his head and pulling it at it with all of his might.

_10 minutes later…_

"I guess I'm not exactly the best person to come to when I comes to old relationships, huh?" Stephen said to me as he held his own spoon and dug it into the cookie 'n cream ice cream that we're now both sharing.

"Isn't it kind of girly for a guy to have comfort food? Especially if it's ice cream? I mean, what are you, gay?" I said, digging my own spoon into the ice cream and taking a mouthful.

"It's usually whiskey." He corrected as he chewed. "We're all out…"

I give him the rest of the pint as I huddled myself closer to keep warm. "You know…Just to keep the record straight, I'm not in love with Scott Pilgrim." I said. I didn't hear any kind of confirmation from Stephen. "It's just…you never forget your first. You know?"

I saw Stephen nod as he continued to help himself to the ice cream.

"I mean…back then all I did was study. I didn't have many friends. I had one close friend and that was it. Her name was Lauren. We had a few classes together. But other than that, school was a good majority of my life. No one really paid attention to me. At least until Scott came." I looked over at Stephen again to see him chewing contently. "I'll shut up now."

"No. Please keep talking. Not that I'm not interested in you and Scott, but if you need to vent please go right on ahead."

I sighed. "I think…I think when Scott came, I found myself surround by friends. Mostly Scott's, but friends nevertheless. He had this one friend, Lisa whom I grown close to."

"What happen to her?"

"I…" I started but then fell silent. I remembered what happen to me and Lisa seven years ago. It all came back like a painful blister. "Lisa…we had a fight. A really big one. It involved Scott."

"Were you two fighting for Scott?" He asked as he shot him a glance.

"Oh God no. Nothing like that. It was something else…" I started but found myself clamming up with the truth. "…we just had an argument about Scott and soon, I found myself with one less friend. But it didn't matter because I had Scott. You know?" I said to him as he nodded. "But then Scott moved away, and I found myself back at square one."

"That's rough. I'm sorry."

"It's ok." I said as I looked as my hands. "…I think that's what really scared me. I think that's why I came here. Because I was scared to be alone again. To feel that feeling again. That emptiness that tells you that you're the only one that cares for you."

"Well you shouldn't feel that way now. Afterall, you have me, Neil, and Scott. Maybe even Knives, I'm not too sure. I have a weird feeling that the girl is crazy …" He said to me as he place the empty ice cream carton down and looked at me. "We're band mates. We look out for one another. So don't feel that you're alone in all this, because we're all in this together." I gave him a warm smile as I looked into his eyes. His words were very soothing. It just had that effect. But soon I found myself laughing at him.

"Wow…talk about cheesy lines. You trying to seduce me there Stephen?" I said jokingly at him as he started to laugh.

"Seduce you? I would never try to do that. I'd imagine sex with you would just be awkward with your usual monotone voice." He laughed as I shot him a death stare. "Oh yes. Yes. Right there…" He said with a monotone voice, trying to impersonate me. It didn't insult me. Afterall we're just messing around and we're among friends. I looked back at the empty ice cream container.

"So why do you have a container of cookies 'n cream anyways?"

"I don't know…I think it was Neil's."

I shook my head as I wrapped an arm around him and give him a small hug.

"Thanks for listening."

"Anytime Kim."

* * *

"Where's Knives?" I said Scott as we all crowed in the living room, getting ready for band practice. "Not coming tonight?"

I stayed the night as Stephen's place and hanged around there for the rest of the day until band practice. When Scott came, I found it weird that Knives wasn't with him. She usually comes really early to watch us set up or at least be with Scott when he comes over but this time, there is no Knives to be seen.

"Oh, we broke up." My eyes widen.

_Are you serious Scott Pilgrim? _I thought in my head as I watched him tune his bass guitar on the ground. _I wonder who broke up with whom. I can see Knives dumping your sorry butt, but she loves this band more than you do…at least I like to think she loves this band more than you. But that doesn't seem logical. That means that…oh you didn't…_

"But maybe you'll meet my _new_ girlfriend soon!" He said with that idiotic smile across his face. "Oh. Check it out! I learned the bass line from Final Fantasy Two." He said as he started to play the battle theme to Final Fantasy Two. We all started intently at him, hoping he would explain WHY he dumped Knives. But when he continued to play the bass line, we knew it was never coming.

"Scott you are the salt of the earth…"

"What?" Stephen said in disbelief.

"Oh I'm sorry. Excuse me. I meant _**scum**_ of the earth." I said, trying to burn a hole into Scott's head with my eyes alone.

_Unbelievable Scott. Not only did you string that poor girl along but you broke her heart and replaced her with someone else. What kind of jerkoff would do that? Where you always like this? Did you do this to me in the past? Was there another girl that you were seeing behind my back?_ I thought as I gripped my drum sticks tight. Stephen walked over to where Scott was playing the bass line and slapped him behind his head, stopping the song abruptly. I couldn't hear what Stephen and Scott where yelling about, I was too busy with my own thoughts.

_He wouldn't do that. But then again he is the legendary Scott Pilgrim. If there were a missing link that would connect sloths to humans I believe Scott would be that missing link. But still…poor Knives. I didn't like her that much, but no one deserves that. Does she even know that she's already been replaced? That Scott is already seeing someone? Wait…who exactly is he seeing? It's almost been three days since the Rockit. It's not like he has the courage to ask someone out impulsively…right? _I stared at Scott as he opened his mouth to talk to Stephen but I couldn't hear the words that were coming out of his mouth.

_Well, there is that one girl…the girl with the weird hair. Could she be his new girlfriend? It's possible…what was her name? Rachael? Riley? Ronda?_ I saw Stephen and Scott walk back to their positions which means they were about ready to go. _I'll figure this all out later. I just need to escape for now…just for now…_

"Count us in, Kim." Stephen said to me as I raised my drum sticks in the air.

"WE ARE SEX BOMB-OMB AND SCOTT PILGRIM IS A LYING, CHEATING, ASSHAT OF A MAN!"

"Wait…what?"

"ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!"

* * *

"I killed him."

"Who?" I asked as I looked over at the person talking to me. The setting seemed familiar. We were in the Benvie Tech High School staircase. More specifically, the staircase that led to the roof of the school. The man that descended the staircase was about my height, messy black hair with think black frame eyeglasses. Simon Lee, my first boyfriend. He stared at me with a wicked smile across his face as he opened his mouth.

"Scott Pilgrim."

I looked off to my left to see a blonde hair girl sitting next to me. She wore a black dress with a black beaded hair clip in her hair as well as a black armband on her right arm. Her name is Lisa, and she was probably the closest friend to Scott in high school. On my right was a brown haired girl with a black v-neck shirt and matching shirt. Her name is Lauren. She was my best friend in high school and a good friend to both Scott and Lisa. She sat there in silence as I looked ahead. I was somehow in a funeral home and there, in front of me, sat a coffin. Inside it, a boy with messy brown hair. A boy that I once knew but now found myself questioning if I really knew him.

"I guess he deserved it." I heard a voice said behind me.

"It's kind of sad."

"Sort of."

The voices behind us began to get louder. Lisa, Lauren, and I remained silent, not wanting to share our thoughts about Scott's death with the rest of them. I got up and walked over to the coffin. Inside was Scott Pilgrim, wearing one of his lame game t-shirts and hold a single rose up against his body. I studied his face. It was indeed Scott. No question about that. But he seems at peace. Like he's ok that he's now dead. As I leaned in to study him some more, his eyes shot open and stared at me.

"Do you dream about this kind of thing often?" He asked as I felt my eyes, my real eyes, shoot open, waking me up from that weird dream. I laid there in my bed, not wanting to move.

_That was interesting. Definitely different from the usual dreams. Why am I dreaming about Scott being dead…and was that Simon I dreamed about? What time is it…?_

I turned myself over to look at the clock. It read 10:20 in the morning. Grumbling, I rolled back on my back and stared at the ceiling.

_Damn. Woke up ten minutes before my alarm went off. Might as well start my day now. I have a shift I have to do._

I slowly rolled out of my bed and grabbed my towel and my toothbrush from my closest. I don't trust those evil she-monkeys that lives in the same apartment with me, so I keep most of my possessions in my room. I made my way down the hallway to the bathroom, only to see a horrid image of all three of my roommate's panties scattered all over the floor.

_Bitches and whores, all of them. I don't know what's more embarrassing though. The fact that they're all g-strings or the fact that all three of them were once mine at one point in my life._

I skillfully stepped across the minefield of panties to the shower and opened the shower curtain. After a nice ten minute shower, I brushed my teeth and made my way back to my room with my towel wrapped tightly around my body. I picked out my favorite green sweater with two white stripes going across the chest, a black shirt, and a matching black skirt for my outfit today. The weather today wasn't going to be that cold but just in case, I took out a pair of black knee high socks and put them on. I walked out of my room and down the staircase to the front door, putting on my strap on shoes. Just when I finished putting on my shoes, I heard footsteps coming from upstairs. I closed my eyes and sighed, knowing that this could only mean one thing.

"Who the hell is making all that noise?" A voice yelled as I looked off to the side. There is only one girl who's natural voice could shatter glass, along with the souls of men. "Kim! I knew it!"

_Of all the things to put up with in the morning. I don't have time to drag this out. I have places to be._ "I'm tragically sorry to have woken you up so tragically early, Sara. And I mean that. I really do." I said, in a sarcastic and monotone voice as I looked over my shoulder to capture a glimpse of Sara and her ridiculously short nightgown.

"Well…well, good! You should be sorry!"

I grabbed my bag as I opened the door to leave the apartment.

"Bitch…" I said to myself, slamming the door behind me, knowing full well that it'll annoy Sara and wake up everyone else in the apartment. I smirked as I walked towards Second Cup for some coffee.

* * *

"It's almost 11:30, slacker! …aww, you didn't bring me one?" The girl at the register said as I walked into No-Account Video.

_Ahh No-Account Video. My place of employment. I've been working here for almost a year now and I'm still on register. Well, then again there isn't that many positions here. It's either working at the register where you can just sit there and watch movies on the TV screen all across the store or work in the back to stock movies on the shelves and correctly put movies back in their appropriate aisle. I guess I chose the lesser of two evils. Only downside is the occasional jerk that tried to mooch off a free movie or two. That's right Scott Pilgrim I'm talking about you…bastard._

I looked at my cup of coffee and then back at the short black haired girl that was leaning on the counter.

"What? A coffee? Hollie, I have some bad news. I hate you, okay?" I said bluntly as I made my way to the back of the counter where Hollie stood.

_Hollie Hawkes. Truthfully I didn't hate her. If there was any girl in this world I despise least it would be Hollie. She has a gay roommate by the name of Joseph and a third roommate who she never really mentions. I guess what I like about her the most is that she knows when to leave me alone. There are just some people who can't take the hint sometimes. Also…she's the only girl that would put up with my mood._

"You hate everyone, Kim." She corrected me as I placed my bag and my coffee down on the counter.

"You're one of everyone." I lied.

"Have you always been this way?"

"What way?" I asked, sipping my coffee.

"Like, uh, a totally hateful bitch?" She said, staring at me with interest. He looked over at her with dull eyes. I knew she didn't hate me. She was just stringing me along for the conversation.

"Maybe I was a happy kid." I said to her, not lying this time.

"I can't even imagine."

"No, you're right. I was like this totally serious kid, and this totally angsty teenager. I probably only smiled and laughed when I was deluded into thinking it would make some jerk like me." I said sarcastically.

_The sad truth? It was all true. School was serious…only really felt happen when Scott and I were together…being a total bitch all through high school and college when Scott left me… _

"You're a holy terror Kim, and I'm glad you're on my side." Hollie said as she walked over to the nearest TV. I wasn't sure if I should be flattered or insulted, but either way it felt good to have a girlfriend to joke with…even if it's bashing on me. "Do you want me to put a movie on? I'm gonna go get some coffee."

"Ooh, can you put something really morbid and horrible and Japanese?" I asked her, continuing the joke of me being hell on earth. Unfortunately for me she took me seriously and found a movie like that. I sighed and took a sip of my coffee.

_I need to learn how to sound more sarcastic..._

_1 hour later…_

I heard the door open and looked over to see who it was. The store wasn't that popular so when someone comes by, it was worth noting who just came in. In my horror it was probably the last person I wanted to see come in. Well, maybe the second worse.

"Oh great. It's Scott Pilgrim. Cue applause." I said, head resting on top of my hands as I followed him with my eyes. He walked over to the counter and started digging into his pockets, trying to find something in them.

"Oh cool you still work here." He said as he continued to dig. "So I have to rent-um-I have a list. Hang on."

"What are you even doing here? You know about the universal ban on your guys' accounts." I reminded him but his blank stare back at me told me that he straight up forgot. Or he didn't know. Or he's a massive tool to Stephen.

"What? Why?"

"Um…let's see…over $1000 in late fees between you and Stills?" I said, rubbing my chin mockingly.

"I thought you erased all that!"

"Yeah, right! Like I'm worth a thousand dollars to this place!" I said as I check Scott's record on the computer.

**No-Account Video**

**Account management**

**Member: Scott W. Pilgrim**

**Blocked**

**Current Fines: $504.38**

**Notes: Returned "The Land Before Time IV" 36 weeks late. He claims that mice hid the video somewhere in this apartment. Also claims he rented it as a joke. Do not let him rent anything. He is scum.**

_It's funny…because I filled out this report on his sorry butt. He is scum._ I thought to myself as I felt my inner self smile.

"Can I rent these on your account, then?"

"Five movies? As if!" I said, taking a look at all of the movies he wanted to rent. To me, they all looked like random movies with one underlining theme: action. A majority were action films. Some were action/romance, but mostly action. Something didn't seem right about this list. "What are these—what's the connection? Why Scott?" I asked, shaking his poorly written list at him.

"It's this dude. This guy Lucas Lee." I looked back at the list of movies and realize that the actor Lucas Lee started in all five of them. It still didn't explain why he needed them.

"Oh right. The actor. 'Let's Hope There's a Heaven.' That was actually good. The rest of these are bad." I said, giving my two cents on the movie list he picked out. I walked from behind the counter to go look for the movies Scott wanted to see. He followed right beside me. "Wasn't he on the cover of _Now_ last week? Are you stalking him, or what?"

"No, he's in town,, and Wallace found out he's Ramona's second evil ex-boyfriend." He said to me as we approached the action aisle. "So I have to train by watching these movies, and then go find him and fight him."

It was a late reaction, but suddenly Scott's words echoed through my head like a swarm of angry bees. I turned to him with a dead, judging stare.

"What?" I said in disbelief. There wasn't a single word in those two sentences that Scott said that I didn't like.

_Second evil ex-boyfriend? Like that one guy from the Rockit? Matthew Playdough? Matthew Pallet? Something like that. You're going to fight him? A famous actor? Do you really think the people will allow you to do that? He's probably trained to do his own stunts. And who's this Ramona? Her name sounds familiar…"_

"It's a long story, okay? Read the book sometime." He told me. I hate that line…he always uses it when he just doesn't want people to know the truth. "Anyways, he's evil, and I have to fight him if I want to keep dating Ramona.

_There's that name again. Ramona. Did he say 'keep dating'? So his new girlfriend is named Ramona. Second evil ex? She dated a famous actor? Why the hell is she wasting her time on you then Scott Pilgrim?_

"Oh yeah, your new girlfriend." I said bitterly. Those combinations of words were almost enough to remind me of what vomit taste like. "How do you know all this anyways? Are you actually stalking the guy?"

"Wallace told me. Wallace knows everything."

"Wallace who?" I asked, reaching for the third movie on his list.

"Wallace Wells! My cool gay roommate?"

"Oh, right." I said as I made my way towards the fourth movie. "How'd you end up living with that guy anyway?"I asked, picking up the fourth movie and adding it to the growing pile of movies in my arms.

"I'd rather not talk about it." I shot him a glance.

"Is it a really gay story?"

"The story is somewhat gay, yes."

_Heh, that figures…_

"Okay, nevermind. Just-Just-how is Lucas Lee evil?" I asked him as I brought all five movies to the counter. I opened up my account and started to check out each movie. I figured since I'll be in close contact with Scott, I would forcefully beat him up until he returned the videos. That, or do it myself. I don't know what made me change my mind about renting it under my name though…maybe he does have a reason to fight. If he's this serious about it though, then I guess I should help him out. At least this one time…

"He's…" Scott started but didn't finish.

"Do you know? DO you have any idea?" I asked, staring at him again.

"Yeah, Wallace…told…me…"

"You have no idea." I called him out on it.

"Oh! Oh! He's evil because he's a sellout!" Scott said, pounding his fist on his open hand. I stared at him, trying to process what he just said.

"What?"

"Or…or he sold out because he's evil. I forget."

"…Scott?"

"Yeah?"

"You're an idiot."

* * *

_About 10:30 pm…_

"I'M SO INDEFATIGABLE!" Stephen sang into the mic as both Scott and I followed up.

"C'MON C'MON!"

_Afterwards…_

Scott, Stephen, Neil and I were relaxing in Neil's room after band practice. Neil was on the computer, surfing the internet, Stephen was wiping away the sweat from his head with his towel, Scott was huddled in the corner of the bed, cuddling a pillow, and I was sipping at freshly brewed coffee. There was a moment of silence before Neil reached to the right side of his computer to grab a magazine.

"Have you seen the cover of _Now?"_ Neil asked, picked up the magazine and handing it over to Stephen.

_Now magazine…it's our dream to one day make it on Now magazine. To make it on that magazine is to make it big in the music world. They do cover stories on the latest bands, reviews on the best night clubs, and reports on upcoming stars. So far…we barely make a blimp on the Now magazine radar. But it's our dream to get on there…even if it's just an impossible dream._

"YES!" Scott yelled, gripping the pillow he was cuddling hard. It didn't seem like an excited 'yes' but more like a hateful 'yes'. Naturally this caught my interest. Anytime Scott was in discomfort is something worth noting. I looked at the cover of _Now_ and staring back at me were three people. The first person looked like a Goth girl with black frame glasses. She was sitting at the lower boarder of the magazine. In the back was a tall guy with light brown hair. His arms were folded over his chest, hiding part of the number 3 that was printed on his shirt. The third person, probably the only one with a full body view, was a girl with colored hair tied into two top ponytails. She wore a red jacket with zippers on every pocket that the jacket supported, a short black tank top that covered up to her belly button, a thick brown belt with a enormous belt buckle, faded blue jeans, and black gloves that were cut off from the fingers. At the lower left of the magazine read:

"_**The Clash at Demonhead."**_

_**Montreal art-rockers make beautiful noises.**_

_Apart from the tacky outfit…she's actually easy on the eyes. Not in the gay way. But I can see how people would go nuts for this girl. Nice full lips, beautiful figure, narrow hips…_ I thought to myself but shook my head, trying to expel those thoughts.

"I dunno. I think it's cool that they're getting recognized." Stephen said as Scott turned his head to him.

"It's NOT COOL!"

_What in the world? They know those guys? And why is Scott so bent out of shape about it?_

"Come on, man. At least one of us made it."

Scott picked up the pillow that he was cuddling and started to beat Stephen over the head with it. "It isn't over! We're gonna destroy her stupid pretentious scrappy art school poser band!"

"Do I detect some latent hostility?" I said, mildly amused by Scott's actions. But the lingering thought that Scott mentioned that 'it isn't over' got to me. He knows her…this girl. But how?

"They're just good, man. Have you heard their CD? I'll lend it to you" Stephen said as Scott continued his pillow assault.

"YOU'RE FIRED!"

I looked back at the magazine and then back at Scott and Stephen.

_There's a connection here. I just know it…but…what?_

_

* * *

_

_2:45 am_

"Kim?" Stephen answered, standing in the doorway of his house as I stood outside, wearing my heavy coat and my pajama bottoms.

"I need to know…" I said to him, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Know what?"

"I need to know what happened." I said as I quickly lifted the copy of _Now_ that was in my hand to his face. I didn't want him to see my face.

I didn't want him to see my tears.

* * *

To Be Continued…


	5. Chapter 2c

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: As always, thanks again for reading and reviewing my story. This is the last part of chapter 2 so after this we'll be moving on to book 3 and all the action behind the scenes of the Scott Pilgrim vs Todd Ingram arc. This chapter will be slightly longer than my 5k limit just to save space and not putting out a chapter that only have 1k words in it.

**A special thanks goes** **out to TrixieStixs** for doing a shoutout for my story. Please go over and see the stories he has up, they're definitely worth the time to read.

Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.

* * *

Pilgrim 002c

"Thanks Stephen…" I said as I picked up the pint of cookie 'n cream ice cream that he set in front of me and started indulging in its creamy, soothing, pleasure. Stephen walked to the couch I was sitting and took a seat, looking at the magazine I brought from my home.

"I don't think I can help you here Kim." He said to me as he stared at the eyes of the girl that was on the cover. I stopped eating and turn my head slightly to see him. I kept my head slightly tilted away from him, just so he didn't see how red my eyes have become.

"Why not?"

"I really don't think you can handle it." I looked back at my ice cream, well...Neil's ice cream, and took another spoonful. "The things that happened during college, the people we met…" He trailed as he threw the magazine on the table. "…what she did to our band, our friendship, and to Scott."

"You mentioned that you were happy that someone made it. I'm guessing she was once with you guys? Whatever you guys were back then?" I said, trying to piece together what little information that Stephen was giving me. I saw Stephen shrug, confirming my hypothesis.

"She was really talented you know. But I guess the talent and the chance of fame and stardom got to her." He said as he looked back at the magazine. "She started to change. It started with her hair…then her clothes…next was her name. She changed it to Envy, a nickname I begrudgingly gave her…"

"What's her real name then?" I asked, now trying to get through the hard part of the ice cream.

"Natalie V. Adams." Stephen said as he got up and walked over to the kitchen. He came back to the room with a bottle of Jack Daniel's Whiskey and a glass cup. He poured himself about a shot's worth into the cup and drank it down. "Nata-er...Envy soon took over the band and when you have both talent and looks, taking over was really easy. She was the self proclaimed 'president' of the band." Ranted Stephen as he poured himself another shot's worth of whiskey.

"Then why didn't you up a stop to it? I mean, it was your band right?"

Stephen drank down the shot and exhaled loudly. "No…the band wasn't my idea. Never was. It was all Scott. He formed the band. Said he wanted to meet girls or something…" He said, tilting the cup and rotating the cup along the bottom edge. "And I couldn't say anything. Scott was going out with her when she took her power trip…"

"…what?"

Stephen took a deep breath and let it out. "Yeah…Scott dated her." He said, pointing at the picture of Envy Adams. "He dated her for a majority of college at University of Toronto. The thing is, she was really quiet back in the day. Before the music, before the drama, before all of that…she was a quiet little church mouse that was concerned about online comics and pocky. I guess a lot can change when the right person comes around. Right Kim?" he said as he looked at me. I nodded as I took another spoonful to my mouth. "On New Year's, Scott and Envy got into a heated argument. Something about the band and selling out…I'm not too sure. They were both really drunk. But in the end, Envy dumped him, and since then his life fell into a nose dive."

I remained silent as I started at the magazine as well, at the eyes of the person that destroyed Scott Pilgrim's college life and his heart.

"Ever since then, at least until Knives showed up, Scott has been slowly recovering from that break up-"

"Wait. Are you telling me that he STILL hasn't gotten over her?" I asked in disbelief.

"Well, to tell you the truth I don't think he got much closure from that relationship. They were both pretty drunk and I think Scott just wanted to talk to her about the band and the record deal she signed behind our backs. Other than the band, he must have thought that the relationship, whatever it was, was going fine. Can you imagine the bomb shell and fallout from a sudden breakup when you thought things were going well?"

_I know it all too well…_

"I guess…" I said softly. "So does he still have feelings for her?"

" I don't know…I thought his mourning period would be over with Knives. But now that he broke up with her and dating some other girl, I guess it's safe to say that his mourning period is NOW over." He said, pouring himself another shot and taking it right away. I watched him take another shot and I placed the ice cream on the table.

"Why are you drinking so much?"

"Remember what she did to us…it was hard times you know?" He said as he placed his glass down.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes. There was a question I wanted to ask but I was scared of what the answer might be. After a few more minutes of mental preparation, I asked the question. "…do you know if they slept together?"

"…who?"

"Scott and Envy."

Stephen didn't answer. I looked down at the pint of ice cream and picked it up. I scooped myself a big wad of ice cream and placed it in my mouth, letting the cold numb my mouth, and hopefully my mind.

"Kim…I know it's not my place to tell you this, but you should move on."

I continued to let the ice cream melt in my mouth.

"There are other guys out there that are worth your time. Scott just isn't one of them."

"…"

"Don't take this the wrong way. But honestly, the only way you'll get over this is if you try to find someone new. Or at least get laid or something…" Stephen said as he got up and picked up his bottle of Jack and his glass and walked back to the kitchen. "Please Kim. You're worth so much more than he can ever appreciate you for. The couch is all yours. Blankets in the closet over there. Try to get some sleep Kim." He said as he walked back to the kitchen, but never made a reappearance to the living room until morning.

* * *

The next few days were pretty standard. After the incident at Stephen's place, things went back to normal. I started doing night shifts at No-Account Video to help pay for the rent as well as for food. Everything was going fine, until Stephen gave me some bad news over the phone.

"Scott is having Ramona come over for dinner tonight." Stephen said over the phone as I was still on my night shift at No-Account Video.

"Please tell me we're actually going to _**have**_ Ramona for dinner…" I pleaded but Stephen said no. I felt a dark cloud over my head start to form.

"Sorry. But it looks like she's going to be coming over. You knew that one day you'll have to see her. Who knows, maybe you'll like her." I said nothing. "…ok, maybe you'll hate her less than you do with most people. Either way, will you be able to come?"

Every fiber in my being was saying 'no' but what Stephen said to me was true. Eventually I will have to meet her. And if he's serious about the relationship then I'll be seeing her more times that what I'm comfortable with. But it didn't mean that I had to like her.

"I'll come…but I'm going to be late."

"Alright. But come as soon as possible. We're going to need more hands to prepare the meal."

"You're not making that weird vegan crap again are you?"

"…you know what? Shut up."

I hung up as I looked at the clock. _Roughly two more hours to go…_ I thought to myself as I slumped on the counter, rewatching the same movie that was playing all day today. _I swear if this movie doesn't kill me I'm sure tonight will be the fatal blow._

_Roughly two hours later…_

I was outside Stephen Stills' home, about ready to walk in. I could hear them outside the door. I could hear Stephen, Neil, Scott, and another feminine voice. It wasn't scratchy or high pitch, but very pleasant to the ears. I took a deep breath before knocking on the door. There wasn't a response. I placed my hand on the doorknob and turned. It was unlocked. Taking another breath, I walked in and went straight for the kitchen.

"Hey." I said to everyone in the kitchen as I looked down at my boot to unzip them before entering.

"Hey Kim! This is Ramona!"

I didn't want to look up at her. But I didn't want to look weird and stare at the floor all day. I slowly brought my head up to make eye contact to the girl that was now dating Scott Pilgrim.

"Ramona Flowers, Kimberly Pine." Scott introduced us. We both locked vision on one another.

"Hi."

"Hi…" I said right back to her as I took off my boots and walked over to where they were sitting.

_So this is Ramona Flowers. Weird…I couldn't have sworn her hair was a different color. Maybe she's impulsive like that? Though I must say…she does pull of the red and violet hair look down. No…no no no what am I doing? I'm not supposed to be complementing her. I should be… what should I be doing? I mean…Scott can date whomever he wants. But…but her? I mean, look at her. Perfect skin, petite body, great fashion sense, nice supple breast…has Scott's taste in women gone up after we dated?_

"Hey kids, now you can cook along at home and impress your vegan relatives!" Stephen said as I looked over at him.

"Uh…does he usually do that?" Ramona asked.

"Sometimes…it's just best to ignore it when he does…" Young Neil said as I went back to studying the mysterious Ramona Flowers.

_I mean…when he dated Envy or whatever her name was, she was described to me as a loser. But now…looking at her in the magazine…she definitely has worked on her appearance. Stephen did say that she started to change and the first thing that changed was her appearance. It would be a no brainer that Scott liked the physical change of his girlfriend…but maybe it was permanent. Maybe he started to look for girls who are more physically attractive. Knives was no looker, but she's still a teenager so there's room to grow, not to mention that she started to work on her appearance as well…_

"So this is like a collaborative meal type thing?" I heard Ramona ask Scott as he kept cutting potatoes.

"Chopping vegetables keeps us out of trouble with the law."

The more I resided in my head, the slower my chopping became. I needed to distract myself. "So like…how did you two meet?" I asked the standard question to the two. I saw them exchange and weird look before Scott resumed chopping potatoes.

"Um…it's kind of complex." Ramona responded.

"Read the book sometime."

_I hate that saying! And I'm starting to hate YOU Scott Pilgrim! Why don't you be a man and give me an honest answer for once in your life? Must you date these attractive girls and rub them in front of my pale, freckled face? Have you no shame Scott? Do you not consider how I would feel about this? Do you even care…?_

"Um…I don't usually tell people this, but Scott and I dated in high school." I said to Ramona, wanting to establish that fact with her and hopefully hinting to Scott that I was also his girlfriend at one point. Hopefully by telling Ramona this, he would be a little bit more sensitive to the situation at hand. An ex taking to the ex's girlfriend spells trouble.

"What? Really?" Ramona asked, looking over at me with a lot of interest.

"Uh-huh. It's not a big deal or anything, but…" I started, trying not to be overbearing with the fact that I was one of Scott's ex's but then Scott interrupted my story in true Scott Pilgrim fashion.

"That's all ancient history, so don't worry about it Rammy." He said as both Ramona and I stared at him.

"Rammy? Are you seriously calling her that?""

"Are you seriously calling me that?"

"No! It was a joke! Joke name! Ha! Ha!" He said, trying to play it cool. More like a slip up on Scott's part than a joke name. But I didn't worry about it. I was busy with my own thoughts and what Scott had said prior to the verbal diarrhea he was spewing.

_Ancient history? Don't worry about it? Does he not even think of me as an ex anymore? News flash Scott Pilgrim, but I know more about you than your precious 'Rammy'. I can tell her things that will make her dump your ass faster than a baby fed laxatives. But what irks me the most…these girls seem WAY out of your league. You're dating better looking people…more beautiful people…more beautiful than me. What was I Scott? What was I in your life? Just some girl that you dated back when? Is that it? Was I some kind of practice girl for you? Someone to use so that you can move on to bigger and better people…? I..I...I've never felt so ugly in my entire life…_

I wanted to run away. But there was nowhere to run. Plus it would create an awkward scene for me and I would never be able to live it down. So I sat there, clenching the knife in my hand with all my might and forcing back the urge to throw it at Scott or Ramona or both of them.

_You used me Scott Pilgrim…I was an object for you to use so you can go on and meet better people. I was a practice girl to you…_

**You **_**were**_** a practice girl Kimberly Pine…**

I looked up to notice that time has stopped around me. Neil and Stephen as stopped moving, Ramona and Scott where paused in mid-chop, and the hands on the clock has come to a halt.

_What's going on? What's happening to me?_

**He was just using you Kimberly. He just needed someone to get rid of his 'first' before he moved on to better women.**

I looked up to see an image starting to form right behind Scott and Ramona. The image took shape of a girl with short hair, a black and white sweater, and a stripped skirt. The clothes…they seem so familiar…

_Who are you? What are you doing here? Why are you always getting in my personal life?_

**Look at her Kimberly…look at her. She's perfect. Clear skin…no distracting freckles...a fuller chest that you.**

As I stared at the image, the shape started to become clear. The clothes suddenly became very familiar. The image finally became sharp and I instantly recognized who it was. It was me…I was staring at myself. She looked like she was in grayscale. No distinct color…except for her eyes. They were blood red and they were staring straight at me.

_You're me…_

**It's about time you notice me. I've been following you Kimberly Pine. The time you went to your friend Stephen for help, the time you helped Scott rent out all those videos with your account, the way you helped him during the fight with Matthew Patel…**

_So you're the thing I saw. Leave me be! I don't need you around!_

**Look at her … she's so much prettier than you. She pulls off the red hair look much better than you.**

_But she's not a natural red head like me. Girls like me are a dime a dozen._

**Of course. But let's face it…she can pull off any look she wants. What can you do? The only card you can play with the guys is the 'shy redhead who doesn't like anyone' card. We both know how many fish you manage to lure in with that one. One Chinese boy whose heart you broke…and a boy who was looking to lose his virginity then move on.**

_Shut up! Scott cared for me! He cared for me when we were in high school!_

**I know he did…he cared a lot. He had to care if he wanted to get laid.**

_It wasn't about sex!_

**Then why didn't he tell you he was leaving?**

I sat there in silence. My dark image wrapped her arms around both Ramona and Scott and kissed Scott on the cheek.

**He's a good boyfriend. I should know. And he got himself a beautiful woman. Tell me Kimberly…has he ever told you how beautiful you looked?**

…_no._

**He told her how beautiful she looked…**

_Shut up!_

**He tells her every night…**

_Please stop!_

**Every night when he rips her clothes off and ravages her naked body.**

_I beg of you…!_

**Why can't you accept the truth Kimberly?**

_..._

**You're still in love with Scott Pilgrim.**

"Serve it! We're starving!" Scott's voice yelled as I broke from my trance and saw that things where back to normal. The vision of me was gone and time was moving again. I was breathing hard as Stephen brought the vegan shepherd's pie to the table and placed it in the middle. Scott immediately dug in and took a forkful and placed it in his mouth. "Mmm! It's good!" Scott said as I saw everyone start taking slices from the pie and putting on their plates. I got up and started to head for the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" I heard Ramona ask as I stopped at the doorway.

"Just…just going to use the bathroom." I said as I rubbed my eyes, trying to not show any emotion or weakness as I made my way to the bathroom.

* * *

"Are you alright Kim? No offense…but you look like crap." I heard Hollie's voice as I looked up at her with tired eyes.

"It was a long night…" I said as I pulled my head up from the counter I was laying on and propped it on my hand. "A long long night…"

"Oh? Is it possible that the elusive Kimberly Pine has a boyfriend?" Hollie poked fun at me as I slowly shook my head.

"It's nothing like that Hollie. Don't you have shelves to organize or something?" I shot her a glance as I saw that her arms will full of videos that still needed to be stocked.

"Yeah I do…just wanted to see if you were okay." She said to me as she looked around. "Just stay sharp! This place is packed today." Hollie said as she vanished behind the shelves. I looked around the store and to much of my amazement…! No one was here.

"Your sense of humor is dry like my mother's turkey on Christmas Hollie…" I said.

"I love you Kim!" She yelled over the shelves.

"Yeah yeah…I love you too." I mockingly said as I resume my normal position of arms and head relaxing on the video checkout counter. Two hours past, and within those two hours I successfully made a house of cards, calculate how much money we would have if everyone paid their late fees, thought of good boy and girl names if I were to ever have kids, 4 successful games of solitaire, and trick Hollie to think that moths were venomous. Finally, something exciting happened…the phone rang.

"Hello, thank you for calling No-Account Video where you don't need an account with us to rent videos. My name is Kimberly, how can I help you?" I forcefully spewed out. If there was anything I was really being paid for it's to force myself to say that line every time someone called. It was pure torture.

"Kim? Hey there Kim. It's Wallace."

"Wallace Wells? Scott's gay roommate?" I asked as I looked over to see where Hollie was. She didn't care that I use the phone to talk to people but she doesn't like it when I tie up the phone lines for too long. "What can I do you for Wallace. You guys already returned the videos and there aren't that many movies left that Lucas Lee was in…"

"It's just that. Scott and Lucas Lee are fighting now. Well…fought I should say. I think you need to come for moral support."

I wrinkled my eyebrows as I heard this. "What do you mean moral support? Scott can handle him. I mean c'mon. He's Scott Pilgrim." I said, trying to remind Wallace that Scott is a very capable fighter.

"Yeah…about that. He's knocked out right now. Lucas kinda…threw him into Casa Loma." I said nothing at this point. "Well, if you want to come over and support him, we'll be there. Oh, and bring drinks too. Bye Kim!" I placed the receiver down and sighed. Could Scott really be no match for this guy? I didn't believe it, but I had to see it for myself.

"Hey Hollie?"

"Yeah?" Hollie answered as she came to the counter.

"You know how I never ask you for favors?"

"Yeah."

"I need one now…"

* * *

As I reached Casa Loma I saw a group of people crowding around near the base of the castle. Among the people in that crowd was Wallace, Young Neil, and if I wasn't mistaken, Lucas Lee. I walked up to them, standing between Wallace and Neil, and looked down at what they're looking at. On the ground was an unconscious Scott Pilgrim. I wasn't too worried, but seeing Scott in this position definitely made my heart sink.

"Oh Kim! You made it. Kimberly Pine, Lucas Lee." Wallace introduced us as I extending my hand to him.

"Hello."

"Pleasure's all mine." He said to me, shaking my hand. Maybe it was the fact he was a movie star, but I felt my stomach turn.

"Y-Yeah…pleasure…" I mumbled.

"Ughhh." We all looked down to see that Scott was finally coming to.

"Are you okay?" Wallace asked.

"I take it we haven't missed much." I said, crossing my arms.

"Let's take a break okay?" Lucas said as he helped Scott onto his feet. "I have a cooler with some Gatorade and baby carrots and Ritz."

"That's sounds so good." Scott said weakly, struggling to get up and stay steady. Lucas grabbed his stuff from this trailer and brought it to a nice area of the castle for them to sit down and talk. Wallace, Neil, and I sat a bench away from them, giving them some space but at the same time close enough to hear what they're talking about.

"Hey, do you have any embarrassing stories about Ramona?" I heard Scott say out loud as Lucas continued smoking the cigarette he lit before.

"Only embarrassing to me. Or heartbreaking!"

"What? Wait, what? She broke your heart? She didn't mention breaking any hearts!" Scott said as he looked at Lucas.

"She left me for the first cocky pretty boy that swaggered by!"

"What? Seriously? She didn't mention any cocky pretty boy…she did actually…" Scott muttered to himself.

"There's a lot of things that Ramona doesn't mention, Pilgrim. She like to act like she's little miss perfect, but the truth is…" There was a dramatic pause where I found myself leaning in to hear that Lucas had to say next. "She cheated on me."

"She what?"

_She what?_

"She cheated on me, and then dated that ass for like, the rest of high school!" Lucas said tearfully as light tears fell from his eyes. Apart from the cheesy tears, I guess there was a reason why he was an actor. A good one at that. Wonder why he sold out though.

"Who does that remind you of?" I said out loud, looking at Wallace and Neil.

"You know, maybe Scott and Ramona are actually a match made in heaven." Wallace said, leaning back onto his arms for support.

"They almost didn't let me join the league. But I knew they had to. I'm an important figure in Ramona's past. Plus I'm super tough and cool."

"The league?" Scott repeated, making Lucas scratch his head in frustration.

"Don't tell me Patel didn't introduce the league!"

"Uh…he may have. In one of his letters. That I don't actually read." Scott said to him.

"God that's so like him! The league of Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends, man. How do you think we're organized enough to come after you like this?"

Scott stared off into space as he tried to think of an answer. When he couldn't, he turned to Wallace. "I…hadn't really thought about it."

"Why are you looking at me?" Wallace responded when Scott looked at him for the answer.

Lucas took one more drag from his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and extinguishing it. "Okay, look. Give me all your money, and I'll let you live. I'll tell Gideon you beat me up."

"Wow, you really _are_ a sellout." Scott said to him.

_Oh Scott…oh Scott why? Not smart. Even for you…_ I thought myself, slapping my palm to my forehead in the sheer stupidity that Scott displayed. Lucas got up, fist ready to clock him a new one.

"Kiss Ramona's sweet ass goodbye Pilgrim."

_Scott! Come on! You gotta strategize! If you can fight him one on one there has to be another way to defeat him!_

"Wait…uh…hey…have you seen these stairs over here? Scott said, trying to change the subject or trying to stall for time, I wasn't too sure.

"What about them?" Lucas asked as they both walked over to the nearest staircase. Well, more like a deathtrap if old people were to fall from the top. What can Scott be planning in that empty head of his…?

"Well, you're a skater right? Or you used to be?"

"Use to be? I still am! What's your point?" Lucas said, raising his skateboard in the air to show Scott that he's still a skater.

_Wait a minute…Is that your strategy? There's no way it'll work. You'll have to be as dumb as Scott to fall for a trap like that…_

"Can you show me a cool trick before you kill me?" Scott pleaded but Lucas just stared at him.

"What, on the stair? There's like 200 steps and the rails are garbage. It's impossible."

"Impossible?"

There was moment of silence. Scott looked down the massive staircase and started whistling a tune. It must have gotten to him because the next thing I knew, Lucas Lee backed up and got on his skateboard, making his approach to the rail.

"You can't be serious…" I said to myself as I watched him ollie on top of the rail and started to grind down the rail. We all ran over to watch Lucas grind. As he continued to move down, I noticed that he was actually moving pretty fast…actually very fast…too fast.

"I don't think he'll be able to stop…" I said, giving my two cents to the group.

"Definitely too fast to survive. Wallace said.

"…wow." Scott said in disbelief, obviously impressed by Lucas Lee's skill.

"AAA NOO AAA!"

POM!

And just like that, Lucas Lee was no more. Well, that's not true. He shattered into a nice cluster of coins.

_I have to admit…that was some fast thinking Scott. Maybe you're not as dumb as I take you for. Even though I still believe you're the dumbest thing since pet rocks._

"This sucks!" Scott said as we made our way down the stairs.

"What? Why? You win by default!" Wallace reasoned with him but Scott hung his head in shame.

"I didn't get his autograph!"

"You are such a tool, Scott." Wallace said as Scott made it to the bottom and looked at all the coins on the ground. Sighing, he knelt down and started to pick up the coins and putting them into his jacket pocket.

"Look at this mess! God!"

"Hey! Sorry about that guy. How much did he leave?" A familiar voice said. I looked up to see Ramona walking down the street to me us. I wasn't too sure how I felt about her yet. We haven't had a conversation between girls yet so I can't really judge…but…arg! She's so…pretty. I felt my eyes droop down as I watched her stand next to Scott, looking at the change that the late Lucas Lee dropped for him.

"Like…like fourteen bucks or something! In coin! What a dick!"

"Wow. Life is hard…" Ramona said.

"Where've you been, anyway? Didn't you want to say hi to the buy before I exploded him?"

_Actually…you tricked him into killing himself. But sure, whatever lie puts you to sleep at night Scott Pilgrim._

"Yeahhh…not really."

_I wonder what he sees in her…_ I thought to myself as Scott was freaking out from the sudden appearance of an item box. _And for that matter, I wonder how they met. Was it at the party? No…he was stalking her at the party. How dare Scott tell me to go read the book. I'll gladly read to book just to see how they met. Maybe I'm being way to judgmental about this. Maybe Stephen was right. Maybe I should at least try to like her…or talk to her alone. It's either that follow Stephen's second advice and get laid…_ I grumbled. _Like there's anyone on this planet that'll give me the time of day. Especially when girls like Ramona and Envy walk this planet._

I saw the group starting to move so I followed them.

"That was the worst fight ever!" Scott complained as Wallace sighed.

"Suck it up."

* * *

_Two days later…_

"I have some bad news." Scott said to us as we're all in the living room of Stephen Stills' home, just finishing band practice.

"What, you broke up with your new girlfriend, but soon we'll meet your _new_ new girlfriend?" I said to him, curled up in my usual ball on their couch. Both Stephen and Neil stopped what they were doing to listen to what Scott has to say.

"No, uh…Envy Adams asked us to play a show. We have to go meet her tomorrow and talk about it. Or whatever…" He said, arms crossed and looking down to the ground.

"That's bad news? That's GREAT NEWS!" Stephen said, getting very excited about the gig. I, on the other hand, wasn't feeling too excited about the offer.

"…your ex-girlfriend?" I said to Scott, but he didn't respond. Scott never told me that Envy Adams was his ex. I had to learn from Stephen.

_Scott…I know that you want to forget about the past, and it would seem that you want to forget that you and I dated. But please Scott…please let me in and tell me these things…_

"We're gonna open for them? They're known! _We_ could get known!" Stephen couldn't contain his excitement.

"Yeah, at Lee's Palace."

"I saw her on the cover of _Now._" I said to Scott, but he didn't respond again. I felt my heart…my soul start to wither. A brought my legs closer to my chest, trying to make my ball a little tighter. I felt like a turtle, trying to hide inside my shell waiting for the emotional wave that was raging through my body to pass.

"I've seen all my favorite bands play there!"

"I used to see a lot of shows there." Scott said, throwing in his two cents.

"She's pretty." I said, wrapping my arms around my legs and lowering my head into my knees.

_Compared to Envy and Ramona, I was just a small blimp on Scott's life in terms of his love life. Maybe he didn't care for me back then. Maybe he didn't care for me at all…I was a practice girl to him…_

I looked up from my knees and I saw her again…my shadow self standing right behind Scott. But she didn't do anything. She didn't talk, didn't move, didn't stop time…all she did was stare at me with her blood red eyes, and smiled.

"WE SUCK! Oh my god! We're so bad! We can't play this show!" Stephen said, turning his excitement from one minute earlier to pure freak out energy.

"We…we don't suck. I mean…I guess." Scott said, trying to look on the bright side.

"We do kind of suck. Kind of badly." I admitted, still staring at my shadow. Her smile turned into a grin at that point and I balled myself as tightly as I could. I didn't want to say anything else. I just wanted these feelings to go away. I want to be free from these emotions.

"Call her and cancel, okay? Seriously."

* * *

_Friday at Lee's Palace…_

_I can't believe I did this…_ I thought to myself as I stood near the bar. _But I must admit…this is the ego boost that I've been looking for all month._

I looked at myself from the bar mirror and smiled. My short red hair was brushed and clipped back by a blue hair clip, my outfit consist of a black and white zip down sweater with a unique black and white dress that I made myself that goes down all the way to my knees. To top it all off, the best high heels that I own. Underneath the dress? Nice black lace bra with matching g-string.

_This month has been an emotional ride. I guess every once in awhile I need to dress up and feel sexy. Not to mention that for once, I feel the gaze of the men around me…_ I thought to myself as I looked at my surroundings to see that at least three or four guys were checking me out. _Maybe I over did it…I mean I don't plan to go home with any of these drunk losers. I just wanted to feel good about myself…especially what went down this month._

"—Oh my God! Look at Kim!" I heard Scott say as I turned around. "Kim's wearing high heels!"

_Oh God Scott…so that's what I have to do to get your attention? Get myself all dolled up to catch your eye? Scott, you're definitely the scum of the earth._

"Whatever. Look who Neil's here with." I said, liking the attention I was getting from Scott but feeling that his attention needs to be diverted to something that I saw when I came in. This information was more important than Scott and I. Off in the distance, a red highlighted Knives Chau had her arms around Young Neil. "She' very, uh… adaptable." I said, enjoying the shocked look on both Scott and Ramona's face.

"Did she seduce Neil?" a newly shaven and haircut Stephen Stills said. Ramona crossed her arms and stared at Scott for a second.

"So you dated her briefly?"

"VERY briefly!" Scott defended.

"I bed Neil will date her even briefly-er" I joked, figuring that the relationship wouldn't last to see the next day.

"I can't believe this!" Stephen said, still in shock. "Should we take him out and beat him?" I shook my head in embarrassment and walked along the rest of the bar, smirking as I overheard guys talking about 'that hot redhead with the freckles'. Around the other side of the bar I saw my co-worker and possibly my only girlfriend, Hollie, with her gay roommate Joseph.

"Hey Kim!"

"Hey. I didn't know you guys were coming to this." I said, surprised to see them.

"Well, their first E.P. was okay. I haven't heard the album yet." Hollie said, passing me a drink. I don't drink that much, even when I was legal age. It just does something to me…especially when I get drunk. I completely lose contact between my brain and my body and sometimes I can't remember the things that I've done. But don't get me wrong, I'm not a cheap date. "But the real reason we're here is because Joseph has a crush on their bass player. Hollie said as we both looked at him.

"I haven't seen him. Is he hot?" I lied, but wanted to see how Joseph described him.

"I don't know, is he hot Joseph?" Hollie egged on as we continued to stare at him. Joseph looked at the ground before looking up at us.

"He is as hot as the flames of the hell you bitches are going to."

We both laughed as I felt Hollie's arm wrap around me and pulled me close. "You're looking good Kim! You planning to score tonight?"

"Pff…as if."

"Come on. So tell me, which one of these drunken bastards are you willing to bring back to your place. Which lucky guy will see where else these cute little freckles are on your body?" She said as she poked my cheek.

"God. Stop it, listen to you." I laughed as I looked up at Joseph.

"What about you Joseph. Other than the bass player which one of these drunken bastards are you willing to bring back to your guy's place?" I asked him as he turned to look at us.

"I hate you bitches."

"But we love you Joseph!"

"Go to hell…"

* * *

_And then it was time…_

_Wow…they're really going all out for this show. But I guess I shouldn't be surprise. I mean they were featured on the cover of Now magazine. They have a reputation to protect._

I watched as both the drummer and the bass player walked on set as a girl with a beautiful figure strutted on stage to the keyboard and mic. I instantly knew, along with everyone else, who that person was. The stoplight opened up and unveiled the band on stage. Everyone and their mother were cheering from the top of their lungs as The Clash at Demonhead starting their first song. I was in awe…Envy Adams…she was something else. Her body, her voice, her hair…I could see why Scott fell for her. But before I could feel ugly again, a guy bumped into my left side and toppling me over. I didn't realize that everyone starting to hop, dance, and shove. But before I could completely fall over, I was caught be someone else from behind.

"Whoa! Are you ok?"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks for the save." I said, turning around to see who caught me. It wasn't someone I know. He had messy black hair, nice button down collared shirt and blue jeans. He looked Chinese but I wasn't sure in this light. All I knew that I felt some kind of connection with him.

"Gotta be careful…a lot of people are starting to mosh in here." He said as the people starting to bump into him.

"Yeah…I see that. So what's your name?" I yelled, trying to get my voice heard over the singing and the obnoxious yelling from the crowd.

"Jason! Jason Kim!"

"Kimberly Pine! It's nice to meet you!" I yelled extending my hand. He took it and gave it a good shake.

"Nice to meet you too!" He yelled back at me.

* * *

End of Chapter 2

Do you think I should keep the chapters in parts or should I just clutter them all together for one long chapter in the end? Keep in mind that if I do that, this chapter alone will be 18,000+ words long. That's longer than most stories on this page. Please submit a review on your input and on the chapter as a whole if you haven't already. So until next time…


	6. Chapter 3

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing my story! If you're joining us now, we're now on the third book, slowly but surely making our way to the final book. As you can see, this is ALL of chapter 3/book 3 so I suggest that you get a nice beverage and a comfy chair because this is going to be a LONG read. Please enjoy, review with any feedback or praise, and I'll see you all in chapter 4! At 14.1k words, this is the longest chapter i've ever written. EVER

I have the sneaking suspicion that people just want me to write about Kim and Knives making out…

Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.

* * *

_Try to remember everything that has happened to you in the last five years. Do you remember all the good and bad times? You probably do. Now try to remember everything that has happened in the last ten years. You can remember some the good things but when it comes to bad memories, you just can't seem to remember or were very small in the long run that you just forgot about them. I don't believe that we forget memories, we just replace them with other memories…memories worth holding on to. But whether or not we do forget, it is part of our past. It is what shaped us to become better person. So no matter how bad the past was, it helped us grow in the long run, if not emotionally damage us to be stronger. A wise man once said that 'time heals all wounds'. Obviously this man has never met me. But there is some validity to his statement. You will remember the thing that hurt you the most. But eventually you'll replace that bad memory with something great. There is one exception to that saying. _

_You never forget your first love…and your first breakup._

Pilgrim 003:

"Hey Kim!"

My felt my eyes droop as I heard Scott call my name over the crowd of people who were trying to make their way out of Lee's Palace. The Clash at Demonhead finished playing not too long ago and people were trying to leave the cramped stage area. As for us, we're staying behind to hang out with the band. Well, I guess the term 'hang out' isn't appropriate. More like 'suffer' with the band. Scott got closer to where I was and I just greeted him with dead eyes.

"Scott…" I said to him. I looked over my shoulder to see that Jason Kim was still standing behind me, his body slightly pressing up against mine. I didn't mind though. Afterall I'm the one that starting dancing with him.

"Hey Kim we're…oh, hey dude I'm Scott." Scott said, pausing in mid sentence to greet himself to Jason.

"Jason Kim. Pleasur-"

"Yeah whatever. Kim! We're moving to the back area to get away from all the stampeding fans. Come on…" He said as he motioned me to follow and started to swim against the current of fans that are heading towards the door. I sighed as I knew that this time would come. I gently pushed Jason off me and turned around.

"Look. I had fun. I really did." I said, trying not to sound monotone or sarcastic. For the record and for all future references, I actually did have fun tonight. Maybe it was me dressing up for this occasion, maybe it was the steady supply of alcohol I kept getting from Hollie, maybe it was because of Clash at Demonhead, maybe it was because of Jason Kim…but whatever the reason, I genuinely had fun tonight. I was just bad at showing that I did. "But I have to go…" I said, feeling like I just gave the wrong answer to an easy question.

"Alright. I'm glad you had fun. Why come to these things if you're not having fun right?" He said to me with a smile. I felt a smile crept up my face.

"Yeah." I simply answered as we both stood there, unsure of what to do next.

"Will I see you again?" Jason asked.

I looked down at the ground, as if I was looking from something. The truth though was I felt my face starting to get hot.

_Maybe it wouldn't be so bad…I mean…he seems like a good guy…_

I made a hand gesture to make him wait for a minute as I hurried to the bar. The bar was getting ready to close so everyone and their mother was there trying to get their last drink. I had to push and shove my way to the front before finally making to the counter. I looked frantically on the surface of the counter until I found it. A white, unstained, cocktail napkin. I quickly grabbed it and made a writing gesture to the bartender who instantly saw my desperate request and quickly handed me a pen before tending to the eighty other patrons. Pushing and shoving my way out of the crowd, I got back to where I told Jason to wait and starting scribbling something on the napkin. After I finished, I handed him the napkin and threw the pen in the general direction of where the bar was. I really didn't care if that fling poked out the eye of a girl or ten girls, I was focused on giving him this napkin.

"Call me anytime." I said to him, handing over the napkin with seven digits written on the top with my name right below it.

"I will." He said as he pocketed the napkin and gave me a simple wave as he walked with everyone towards the exit. I stood there, watching him walk away and found myself asking the same question I always ask myself after making a big decision.

_Did I make the right choice?_

* * *

I stood with the rest of the gang in the middle of the stage area, waiting for the band to come get up. Everyone has left and the custodians were cleaning up the dropped cups, napkins, pocket trash, and the occasional dime bag off the ground a tables. We all stood there in silence, each of us looking like we're thinking about different things. Stephen finally broke the silence.

"Decent show, eh? Told you they were good." Stephen said to Scott, reinforcing his point about Clash At Demonhead. Scott stared at him for a minute and then turned away, covering his mouth.

"I think I'm gonna throw up…" Scott said as he looked off to his head towards the doorway that lead to the kitchen. His eyes were fixed on a glowing patch of light that was on the ground. I looked up to see where the light was coming from and noticed that there was nothing above it.

"Wh…What is that?" Scott said as Ramona looked in the direction he was staring at. Ramona had a confused look on her face as she too saw the glowing circle of light.

"What?"

"That glowy thing by the door."

"Huh…I don't know." Ramona said, now paying full attention to it.

"What are you talking about?" Stephen said, now looking over where Scott and Ramona where looking.

"That, uh thing?"

"I think it's a save point."

"It's a save point." I told Scott. I wasn't a big fan for save points. I believed that in life there are no real save points. But Scott started to freak out when I verified Stephen's opinion.

"WHAT? Are you serious?" He said, now sprinting to the save point. "I gotta save before she—"

"What the hell? You're not supposed to be here! We're closed!" The manager yelled as she walked out of the kitchen holding a bin full of empty beer bottles and dirty glasses.

"Uh…we're…we're with—" Scott stuttered. I wasn't sure what scared him more. The manager? Or the fact that he had to admit that he was here for Envy.

"Hey. Don't worry about it." Said a familiar voice. We all turned out heads to see Envy, Todd, and their drummer Lynette standing over the railing where we were all waiting. "C'mon back here, guys. Let's chat."

_Oh boy…here we go…_

We all followed her to the back room which consisted of two couches and a coffee table. The room was rather cramped but we manage to find a place to sit or stand. I, myself, found a nice place on the couch to curl up in. As we all finally settled into our own spots we all stared at one another…doing nothing. It was dead silence. No one wanted the talk. The tension in the room was almost killer. Envy staring at Scott, Ramona staring at Todd, Todd staring back at Ramona, Knives staring longingly at Envy, Julie idolizing Envy, and me, staring at everyone else trying to understand the real situation at hand. Oh, and Scott? He was staring rather intently at the wallpaper. I saw him shoot a small glance at Envy and she responded.

"Hi Scott."

"Hi" Scott replied mindlessly.

"Hi, Ramona." Todd said, arms crossed and undressing her with his creepy eyes.

"Hey Todd." Ramona said, crossing her own arms to cover her breast.

There was another moment of silence. This one longer than the previous.

"Um…Envy? I…I…I read your blog." Knives squeaked. Envy, Todd, Julie, and even Stephen all glared at her. She withdrew inside herself and stayed quiet again as Julie started to talk to Envy. I didn't pay much attention to their conversation. I figured it was something idiotic and not worth the brain cells to try to pay attention to. Besides…to understand Julie's high pitch voice requires the aid of a dog and noise filter to cancel out the occasional ear shattering voice peaks she has.

"_Do you come to these things often?" _I heard the voice of Jason Kim echo inside my head.

"_Not really. I'm here with a couple of friends. Underground concerts aren't usually my thing."_ I heard my own voice reply to Jason Kim's question. I figured that Envy and Julie's conversation will take awhile so might as well indulge in past conversations I've had to waste time. In this case…the conversation I had with Jason.

"_That's a shame. These guys are really good you know. That Lynette can play the drums really well. You don't see many girls that can play drums"_ Jason said to me.

"_Actually, I play drums! I'm in a band if you believe it or not."_

"_No way. You're in a band? That's awesome. Even more awesome since you're a girl drummer. Are you guys famous?"_

"_Not really…"_

"_Don't sweat it! At long as it's something you love to do, then keep reaching for the stars! You'll get there someday! I know it!" _Jason said to me as I felt a little better about our crappy band.

"_How would you know? You never heard us play, let alone heard of us in general."_

"_Well, what's life without a little positive reinforcement every once in awhile? Beside, a cute redhead on drums? Who doesn't love that?"_

"I've kiss the lips that kissed YOU!" Knives yelled at Envy as that sudden outburst broke that inner conversation in my head. We all started at Knives in disbelieve as Envy nodded at Lynette, who was standing off in the corner of the room. There was a sound like a motor revving up as Lynette raised her right fist. In that second, her arm extending across the room and sucker punched Knives right on the face. We all looked in shock as we saw Knives fall to the ground and Lynette's arm unscratched back to its normal length.

"N…No way!" Neil said in disbelief as I was looking at Lynette's arm.

"Bionic arm?" Scott yelled as Knives slowly got back to her feet, wiping her face to see if she was bleeding or not. Neil looked over at Knives to help her up but then noticed something wrong

"Knives…! Oh My God, Knives!" Neil said as he covered his mouth in shock. "Your hair…! She punched the highlights out of your hair!"

"Do you give up?" Lynette finally speaking as she cracked her knuckles.

_Lynette must be the muscle of the group. It doesn't seem like Envy can fight and Todd just seems to be the lady magnet. That just leaves the physical work for Lynette. And with that bionic arm I can see why she's the muscle. Scott, if you plan to take down Todd you have to find a way to take down Lynette as well._

"Yes! I-I didn't mean to-" Knives started, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm really sorry! I'll be so, so good!"

"Uh, no. I don't think so. You and your little boyfriend can go now." Envy said to her, basically kicking her out of the room. This was a major blow to Knives' psyche. To be dismissed from your idol's presence is something that no one can live down.

"C'mon. Don't worry about it." Neil said as he helped Knives up and slowly escorted her out of the room, shutting the door behind them. I suddenly felt the beast inside me chest starting to growl.

_Is this how she treats all her fans? Even the most devoted? What kind of woman is this? Scott, how can you date someone this heartless and cruel? Was she even worth it in the long run? And this guy Todd…something doesn't feel right with him. So far he's been sitting there, staring at Ramona. Who knows what he's thinking right now. But Envy…if it wasn't for that bionic girl I the corner I would have already took my shot at you for hurting Scott. Using him for your own personal gain…_

"So…Scott and Ramona, eh?" Envy said as I looked around the room. It was less crowded but now the tension has increased tenfold.

"What of it?"

"You guys are a cute couple, you know? You suit Scott." She said, a little begrudgingly by the looks of it.

"Uh…Thanks."

"So what's your ulterior motive, Envy? In general I mean…" Stephen said, basically asking the question that everyone was thinking.

"She doesn't need ulterior motives! Look at her! She got a writeup in Spin." Julie, the kissass, said.

"Yeah, Stephen, wow. I'm hurt. Wounded even. I'm just saying. Cute couple." Envy said with a smirk.

_How interesting…If it weren't for this table in the way, I would say that the room is divided in two. On one side, team Envy. On the other side, team Scott. Well, I should say team Ramona. And before Knives left, Scott manage to fill the room with every girl he's ever dated. Leave it to Scott Pilgrim to do something that stupid and awkward._

I looked over to where Envy was sitting then back at Scott.

_Hmm…I'm surprised though. So far no fighting. Scott needs to defeat Todd and he hasn't even made a single…_

"That's it! That is it! You cocky cock!" Scott yelled, slamming his hand on the table and standing up.

…_wait, what did you call her?_

"You'll pay for your crimes against humanity!" Scott yelled as she hopped over the table, fist cocked back to throw. The beast inside me began to cheer, finally seeing Scott in action and give Envy exactly what she deserved.

_Go for it Scott! Go for…wait, he's going right for Todd!_

I was mistaken though. He wasn't throwing the punch at Envy. He was actually aiming at Todd. Not that I don't think Scott can hit girls, but going for a sneak attack on Todd like this would definitely help him now.

_There's not enough time for him to react. He can't throw is arms up to defend himself from this shot. He's going to take it right in the face!_

But again…I was wrong. Todd skillfully moved his head off to the left, narrowly missing the pot shot to his head. He quickly stood up, his hair starting to flow upward towards the ceiling almost suspended by magic and his eye…his eyes were glowing…

_What the...Scott missed. And what's with this guy? No…Lynette isn't the muscle. Todd is! SCOTT!_

Todd reached for Scott but didn't grab him. Instead his hand took a form of a little 'c' and aimed it as Scott's neck. It was something straight out of Star Wars. We all saw Scott start to levitate up as Todd moved his hand upwards and began to tighten his hand, choking Scott.

"Kk…my neck…y-your hair…" Scott sputtered out as his hands reached for his throat, trying to pry away whatever is choking him, but his hand found nothing there. "Aaa dude wait aaa!"

"Didn't you know?" Envy started as Todd looked in the direction of the closest wall and threw his arm in that direction, hurling Scott right through it. "Todd's a vegan. Graduated top of his class from Vegan Academy and everything."

"It's no big deal." He said bluntly as we all stood up to go check if Scott was ok.

"No kidding! I mean, anyone can be vegan if work at it, right?" Stephen said, as I understood what he was doing. He was trying to pry information out of Todd. This is one major trump card Todd has over Scott. If we can get information about him, maybe there's something Scott can use.

"No. Ovo-lacto vegetarian maybe."

"Uh…why not?" I asked.

"Most people just can't take it. It's a fact of science. The main thing to now is that I'm better than most people." Todd said as he combed his hair back down. I got really annoyed by his snotty remark.

"That's what they taught you?"

"Hey, go ahead and get snippy, baby. If you knew the science, maybe I'd listen to a word you're saying." Todd barked back at me as I glared at him.

_This guy is really getting on my nerves…Why don't you go eat Envy's man meat. _I thought to myself as I looked over at Scott. Ramona was already there trying to help him back to his feet. Lucky for Scott he crashed into garbage cans and a wall. Ok, not really lucky in the short run.

"Uh…hey. How does not eating dairy products give you psychic powers anyways? I've been wondering." Stephen said, still trying to get information out of him.

"You know how you only use ten percent of your brain?" Todd started as I interrupted.

"This is another fact of science?"

"Well, it's because the other 90 percent is filled up with curds and whey!"

"That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard!" Scott said, finally making it on his feet.

"Anyways, that's why you can't win this fight, Scott. And you'll have to give up on dating this girl." Envy said, crossing her arms and watching Scott's suffering for her amusement.

"What?"

"You know about all this?" Scott said.

"Of course I do! I've been with Todd since we were eleven!"

"So…he cheated on you with me?" Ramona said, thinking about it. I raised an eyebrow at Ramona's comment.

_Wait…if that IS true…then he did cheat on Envy with Ramona…right? But that means that…wait…arg! This is starting to hurt my head. And what's with this Todd guy spouting off about science? I mean…hello? You can't have psychic powers if you BELIEVE in science. News flash!_

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not being ridiculous, I'm just trying to-"

"I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work. Nothing will. You're finished, and Todd's going to make sure it stays that way." Envy said, staring dead into Scott's eyes.

_What I don't understand is why Envy cares so much for Scott's destruction. I mean…if it weren't for him she wouldn't be where she is today…right? There's something more to this…I know it!_

"You…you ass! She used to be so nice!" Scott yelled as he dashed towards Todd and attempted to launch Todd in the air for an air combo. But at that instance Todd's eyes glowed and dodged the attack. With one fell swoop, he launched Scott into the air in a trail of 'a's. It was a full thirty seconds until Scott landed back to earth, into another pile of garbage.

"Hey, maybe you should come up with a strategy, genius!" Ramona said to him as Scott was still in a daze.

"Genius…" He mumbled as he slowly got back to his feet. "I dislike you."

"Tell it to the cleaning lady on Monday." Todd retorted.

_Wait what?_

"What?"

"Because…because you'll be dust by Monday."

"Huh?"

"Because I'll be pulverizing you sometime over the weekend."

"I'm sorry…what?"

_Oh God…this conversation is starting to hurt my head again. He's just as bad as Scott when it comes to comebacks. Maybe even worse!_

"And the cleaning lady…cleans up…dust. She dust." He said as I saw this comeback start to fall apart. "And she has weekends off, so…Monday. Right?" He asked Envy as she looked at him.

"What in the hell are you talking about, Todd?" She said to him as I closed my eyes and shook my head.

_Wow…That was bad. I'm pretty sure that any brain cells that are left in my head have either collided with each other trying to understand what that dumbass said or killed themselves from the sheer stupidity of his statement. Either way, I need to get out of this place. The levels of retardation are getting WAY too high for my taste._

"…let's call it a night" I head Envy say but Todd stepped towards Scott.

"We have unfinished business, I and he."

"He and me." Scott corrected, fist clenched as he too stepped forward.

"Don't you talk to me about grammar...!" Todd said, cocking back another punch to throw.

"We'll finish it tomorrow. Look, let's sleep in, have a late breakfast, and we'll meet up around 1 pm, okay?"

"Where?" Scott asked Envy.

"Honest Ed's."

_Wait…the convenient store? Well, more like a convenient death trap? _

"What? Why?" Scott asked again as Envy shook her head at him.

"Oh, Scott. Don't you like surprises?" Envy said to him as they started to walk out of the ally Scott got punched into. It started to rain when Envy and them left. We all ran for the nearest awning and waited there for awhile, seeing if the rain will let up. I was already in a bitter mood from Todd's snotty remarks to me, Envy's disrespect to Scott, and Scott for not being able to do anything to fight back. This was a fight that I actually didn't see Scott land a single blow. He was weak…useless…powerless… I could feel my confidence in Scott fade as the rain continued to pour.

"Yeah…I don't think it's stopping anytime soon." Stephen said as we all watched the rain. I couldn't stay here any longer. I needed some fresh air. Fresh air away from here that's for sure. I put my heels back on and started to walk out into the rain.

"I'll see you guys at band practice." I said, walking straight, crossing the street.

"You're not coming to the thing? The Honest Ed's thing?" Stephen called out to me as I raised my middle finger at all of them.

"Blow me." I said to them without turning around as I made it across the street, just as a car drove right past me. I headed down the sidewalk towards my place, which was still a good ten blocks away. I felt my body starting to get wet, my self-tailored dress getting soaked from the rain, and everything underneath it becoming increasingly uncomfortable to be in.

_God dammit, why did it have to rain? Now I'm going to get home all wet and end up getting a cold. All because of stupid Scott Pilgrim and Ramona frickin' Flowers. Stupid Todd douche…why couldn't he be a good normal guy and just get obliterated into coins when Scott threw that punch? It's so stupid and retarded that…_

I felt the rain starting to come down even harder. It came to a point where I had to run to the nearest bus stop and take cover in the overhead shelter.

_Ahh! I'm nowhere close to my house yet! And if this rain continues I'll end up freezing to death out here! Not to mention that I made the BRILLIANT move of dressing up slutly tonight. Stupid stupid Kim. This is what happens when you want to be notice…when you want to feel special…when you want to feel good about yourself…_

Just then my phone rang. I wasn't expecting a call from anyone, especially in the middle of the night like this. I reached into my hidden dress pocket I sewed in and pulledout my phone. The number wasn't familiar…same area code so at least it's not a stalker call. I flipped my phone open and pressed it against my wet ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Remember me? It's been so long…" I heard the voice say to me in a lightly joking matter. I scanned my brain to find the name to the voice but as hard as I could, I just couldn't match it.

"Uh…who is this?"

"It's me, Jason? Jason Kim?"

I felt my mood change from borderline suicidal to slightly pleasant.

"Oh Jason. Sorry…didn't know what you sounded like over the phone." I said, sighing a bit. "Wow, calling a girl right after she gives you her number? I know I said give me a call anytime but I didn't mean it like this."

"So is this a bad time…?" He asked me as I looked at my surroundings. There wasn't anywhere to go so now was a good a time as any to have a conversation with someone.

"I guess not. I'm still a bit wet from the outside world. It's raining cats and dogs…"

"How about we go to my place to talk then?"

"Sure, but I have no idea where you live and I exactly can't walk there in this weather." I said to him as I turned towards the street. There was a bright light coming from the side of the road and the lights got brighter and brighter as it came closer. The car stopped fully in front of the bus stop and inside the car was Jason, holding the phone to his ear.

"Let me give you a ride." I raised an eyebrow, seeing the whole scene as sketchy. "Don't give me that look. I wasn't stalking you. I was the car that almost hit you when you decided to J walk the street without looking. Had to make a second pass to make sure it was you." Shaking my head, I hung up the phone and opened his car door, getting inside.

"Thank you for the ride. So where do you live?"

"No to far from here…so how was your night?"

"Don't get me started…" I muttered as we drove towards his home.

* * *

We entered Jason's apartment and I must say, he was very neat for a guy. It was everything you expect from a girls apartment but more manly and filled with books and literature. I was automatically entranced by his place. I almost wanted to ask if he needed a roommate to help pay rent. He threw is keys on the coffee table, the attached small teddy bear with the red bow bounced off the surface of the table and rested on top of the keys.

"Make yourself at home." He said to me as I continued to look at all the stuff inside his place.

"Will do…" I said mindlessly. I heard the rain get harder outside as the sound echoed through the apartment. "This whole thing is an unmitigated disaster!" I said, walking to Jason as we both headed to the kitchen.

"Oh, come on. I think 'act of god' is a decent excuse for a lousy date." He said to me as I perked up by his words.

"So this was a date, eh?"

"Did I say date? Slip of the tongue." He said as we both entered his kitchen. I found a seat next to his dinner table and rested my wet bones. Jason went to the cupboard and opened it, looking inside.

"Do you want hot chocolate? What kind do you want?" I raised my eyebrow at this.

"There's more than one kind? What do you have?" Jason scanned his cupboard from left to right and took a deep breath.

"Let's see…Abuelita, Bournvita, café mocha, carnation, chamurrado, cocodirect, chocolate with raspberry, Liver disaster, walnut chocolate, Ibrarra, Mayodomo, Milo, Ovaltine, Stephen's Gourmet, Swiss Miss, and…Nesquik."

I blinked at his list of chocolate. "I…Uh…what are you having? …did you make some of those up?" I asked him as he took a book labeled 'Nesquik' from the cupboard.

"I think I'll have Nesquik."

"That sounds good to me." I said, feeling the cold getting to be because of my wet clothes. He looked at me as he started to walk out of the kitchen.

"God, you look like you're gonna die." He said as he disappeared from the doorway. "Let me get you a blanket."

"That would actually be awesome." I said to him as I looked at the unprepared hot chocolate and then around the kitchen. The clocked read four o' clock and I sighed.

_Well this has been a very productive night I suppose. At least I can get something warm in my system and warm myself up before heading out again. Afterall I do have a shift tomorrow at No-Account. It would look so bad if I show up late. Hollie will have a field day about partying too hard._

Several minutes pass and still no sign of Jason.

_Where the hell did he go?_

I got up and walked out of the kitchen, peering down the hallway. I saw that a light was on so I walked over and looked inside. There I saw Jason Kim, shirtless, trying to find a warmer shirt to put on. I felt my face turn red and turned away, closing my eyes to hide it.

"Oh geez. Sorry! I'm Just…cold!" I tried to justify why I was snooping around his house. A couple of seconds later I felt something warm on me. Something very warm.

"Here, does this help?" Jason's voice asked right behind me as the sudden burst of heat did help.

"That…that's very warm. What is that?" I asked as I opened my eyes.

Jason's blanket was wrapped around me.

"Yeah…sorry about that. Kinda left you out there for a minute. I was just trying to find my favorite shirt. It's insanely warm and when it rains like this, this place can get really cold. You know I've been thinking…I really can't let a beautiful girl like you go out in the storm like this. So how about you take the couch and I'll make you breakfast the next day. Well…I guess technically today is the next day…but…"

I cut him off with a passionate kiss. I wasn't sure what I was doing. I didn't care what I was doing. I just wanted him. Me, him, his blanket, and his bed. I wanted it all at that moment and I was going to take it. He returned my kiss with his own, his hands pressing up against the wet fabric of my dress, as if he was actually touching my bare body. I pushed him deeper into his room and kicked the door closed, knowing that this door wouldn't open again until morning.

* * *

"Kim you're late!" Hollie's voice yelled as I staggered into No-Account video. I couldn't get home in time to change my clothes. I was still in the dress I went to Lee's Palace in, still wearing my hair clip but in a different location now, barefoot because I couldn't run in heels, my hair was a mess, my dress wasn't put on straight…I looked like I was taken into an ally and raped last night. But the only difference was that it was consensual. Hollie appeared from behind a video shelf to look at me. As soon as she did, she had a big grin on her face and dropped all the videos she was transferring over to the next shelf.

"Please don't say it…" I pleaded. She looked at me from the top of my messy hair down to my bare feet. Her smile got even wider at this point.

"Kimberly got some booty! Some booty! Some what, what!" Hollie sang as he made pelvic thrusting motions and slapping gesture near her crotch level. I grumbled as I walked behind the counter and dropped all my things on the ground, placing my head on the counter and started to ruffle my hair even more in frustration.

"Shut up Hollie! I don't need this from you right now!" I yelled at her but she continued to make the spanking motions and humping actions while STILL singing her song.

"She got some action! She got some action!" Hollie laughed as she came over and watched as I suffer passively on the counter. "Oh come on girl…I'm proud of you! Don't high five me…but proud of you! You manage to nail a guy and not see him again. You successfully had a one-night stand!"

"Not exactly…" I mumbled as Hollie raised her eyebrow. "He has my number…"

"Oh…" She said as she processed the information in her head. Another grin spread across her face. "Kimberly's now a booty call! A booty call! A what, what!" Hollie sang and I picked up the nearest object which was a pen and threw it at her body.

"Shut the hell up Hollie!"

"Oh Kimberly. Oh Kimmy…there there…" I heard her say before wrapping her arms around me. I shrugged her off but she wrapped her arms around me again and patted me. For some reason, she felt comforting…she wasn't trying to rub it in or trying to be a jerk…but she was trying to comfort me. "Girl, you know I'll be here for you. Despite you hating me, I don't hate you. If you have any problems you come to big sister Hollie ok?"

I didn't say anything as I kept my head on the counter.

"So how did this all happen?"

"Well…we were backstage talking to the Clash at Demonhead and…"

"No I mean the one night stand."

"Oh…so you remember the guy, Jason Kim right? I'm sure you do. You kept giving me drinks saying 'you should totally do him!' Well I was walking in the rain and he picked me up."

"Hmm…I see. The stalk and bait…got it. So how was he in bed?"

"You know, he wasn't that…"

I caught myself as I turned my head to meet Hollie's grin. I glared as her before turning my head away from her.

"Go to hell Hollie."

"But I love you Kim!"

"Go to hell Hollie!"

"Love you Kim!"

"Go to HELL! HOLLIE!"

* * *

I went back to my place to take a long shower, washing away what happened last night and officially start my day anew. I grabbed some comfortable clothes and headed back out towards the Second Cup. I needed some coffee in my system. With all the things that went down last night as well as the constant harassment I received from Hollie, I needed the caffeine boost. As I walked into the Second Cup, I was greeted by Stacy Pilgrim, Scott's younger sister. She waved me down as I approached the counter.

"Hey Kim. You look great today!" She said as I gave her a sullen look.

"Thanks Stacy…"

"So the usual for you?" Stacy asked as I nodded my head.

_The usual for me? Black coffee. No room for cream. No need for it._

Stacy poured me a cup and I handed her the money. It was a simple exchange. No need for small talk. No need to explain last night's experience. Just get in, get out, and get on with your life. It's what I needed. It's what I really wanted. Just to get on with my life. But experience taught me well.

It's never that simple.

"Kim? That you?" I turned my head to see who was calling me and I saw Ramona Flowers looking at me from her table, roller blades on her feet and goggles on top of her head. "Hey Kim. Wanna sit and chat for awhile?"

_NO!_

"Yeah sure…" I said as I walked over and sat down next to her, placing my cup down in front of me. Ramona looked at my order, more specifically at the labels to figure out what I got.

"Uh…what did you get?"

"Black coffee."

"Sugar and cream?"

"No."

There was a silence. _Now that I think about it…this is the first conversation that I've had with her without Scott around. She doesn't seem like a bad person. I mean, maybe she just dated jerks in the past. Maybe I should try to talk to her and get to know her better. Afterall Scott is literally killing himself to be with her._

"So…you and Scott huh. You're really serious about him." I started as Ramona nodded her head. "He's really trying to win your heart by fighting all your ex's."

"Please don't remind me." Ramona said as she rubbed her head. "I really REALLY don't want to talk about my ex's right now."

"Then tell me about yourself. I'm sure there's more to Ramona Flowers than meets the eye." I said to her as she looked up at me.

"Alright. Well, I'm from America. Went to the University of Carolina in the sky."

"The what?" I asked, a little interested in her past.

"Big sky? Tethered to the mountains by a giant chain?"

"Oh right…that place. I went to Nipissing University." I said as I looked at her bag. I noticed the star that was on it. It looked really familiar. "Say Ramona…is that what I think it is?"

Ramona looked at her bag and put it on the table. "Oh this? It's a bag that's connected to the subspace highway. Maybe you've heard of it?" She asked as I smiled.

"The subspace highway? I've heard of it. An inter-dimensional highway to travel from point A to point B in less time that it would take say…a car to get there. I've heard of it before. No one here in Canada uses it though. I'm sure over ninety percent of them don't even know it exist."

"Finally. A Canadian that knows about the highway. I had to explain it to Scott maybe twenty times before he figured it out." Ramona laughed. "Did you know the highway goes straight through his head?"

"You mean you can see inside his head?"

"Totally."

"See anything embarrassing?"

"Well…" Ramona thought about it. "…he does have a lot of dreams involving video games…"

"Yeah. That's just like Scott. Slacker from start to finished." I said as Ramona laughed.

"Yeah no kidding! He's a real bum when it comes to taking care of himself." We both started to laugh among ourselves. We suddenly stopped however, as we both came to a realization that we just shared a nice moment together, an ex talking to the ex's current girlfriend.

"So…Scott." Ramona said as I looked at our coffee cups.

"Yeah…"

"What happened between you two?" She asked me. I closed my eyes.

_I guess Scott hasn't told her about us…I don't want to tell her. I shouldn't be the one to tell her. At least not yet. A secret that deep…it's best if I hold onto it for now._

"I'm not that comfortable talking about it here, if you don't mind." I said to her and Ramona nodded her head in agreement.

"I'm sorry. My bad. Didn't mean to upset you…" She defended herself. "…it's just that. I don't know. You seem nice. I really don't think you're that much for a bitch that you like to show people." I half smiled at her response.

"Thanks I suppose. You're not that much of a bitch yourself." I said, rather smugly. We started at each other for a minute before Ramona asked

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your ex-boyfriends. They all claimed that you cheated on them." I said to her, recalling what Matthew Patel and Lucas Lee said about Ramona. "Did you cheat on them?" I asked point blank. Ramona took a sip of her coffee.

"I rather not say…" She said as she placed her cup down. "But that's all in the past. I'm trying to run away from that but as you can see, I'm not that good at running away."

"Everyone has their issues. I guess the only difference between the sane people and the people like us is how we deal with them." I said, sipping my own bitter coffee.

"I suppose…But they weren't all evil you know. They just kinda, turned evil after the relationship. Though Todd is a bit…off. He literally punched the moon for me once."

"You mean figuratively."

"No…literally."

I took a sip of my black coffee, trying to process the information that she gave me. "Punched the moon you say. I would hate to have someone like that as an ex. That's some major baggage."

"Everyone carries baggage. Mine just happens to have a grudge against me." She said as she looked at her watch. "Oh shoot. Gotta get back to work." She said as she got up.

"You were on a break? What do you do?" I asked as I got up myself.

"I'm a delivery girl."

"And you're using the unused subspace highway to travel?"

"Pretty much." She said as she started to head to the door.

"I'm going to see you at band practice right?" I asked, getting my hopes up. She stopped at the door and turned to me, smiling.

"Yeah, of course I am. Gotta support that dork's hobbies right? Or else what kind of girlfriend am I?" She said as she waved at me before skating off. I laughed at myself before finishing off my coffee and head back to my place for some rest and relaxation.

* * *

It was almost seven at night and I was walking towards Stephen Stills' home for band practice. If we were going to open for Clash at Demonhead tomorrow, then we needed all the practice we can get. There was a lingering feeling in me though. Unfinished business. I reached into my bag and pulled out my cell phone. I haven't checked this thing ever since that night…

…that night…

I shook my head violently, trying to expel all those dirty thoughts. I flipped open my phone to find that I missed six calls, all from Jason Kim. They were spread out in two hours intervals and it would seem as if he gave up an hour ago.

**His 'services' are no longer needed Kimberly. Just leave him with his memories of you and move on.**

_But he's a human being. He deserves some kind of closure. _

**You mean like the closure Scott gave you?**

_That's different! I'm haunted by his ghost. But there's difference between Jason's ghost and mine. I know I can make it right. Scott is way too dense to realize that he has hurt me._

**Why even call him? All he was to you was a booty call. A friend with benefits. Hell, don't lie to yourself, you just wanted to have sex with him! He wasn't really a friend. You just wanted to use him to feed that sexual beast that's been laying dormant for all these years.**

_Shows what you know about me…_

I opened my address book on my phone and looked at the number that Jason called me with. I was sure this was his phone number. I highlighted it and hovered my thumb over the call icon.

**Don't do it Kimberly.**

I felt the presence of my darker self take form and stood right next to me, her hand behind the upper half of my phone ready to close it.

**Don't call him. If you call him now, it'll break the whole arrangement of being a booty call.**

_I never wanted to be his booty call! Or my booty call! We never agreed to anything like that! It was just one night. That's it! Nothing more! Nothing less!_

**Because we all know your heart belongs to Scott Pilgrim.**

She moved in front of me so that we were staring at each other, eye to eye.

**I know you better than you know yourself Kimberly. You cannot deny how you really feel.**

"Oh yeah?" I said out loud as I pressed the call button and placed the receiver against my ear. "I guess you don't know me as well as you thought." I saw my darker self dissipate in the wind as I heard ringing from the other end.

**You'll soon see the truth Kimberley. And when you do…I'll be there…**

She fully vanished as I heard Jason Kim answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Jason…it's Kim." I said, starting to feel hesitant and nervous. "Listen…are you doing anything later tonight? What? No no! Not like that…Just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out, or something."

* * *

"You're having your cake!"

"Ba ba ba!"

"You're eating it too!" Stephen sang at Scott and I played. But soon Stephen stopped playing and waved his arms, signaling us to stop playing. "Hold on! Stop!" He said as he looked at our unbiased third party, Ramona Flowers. "Do we suck?"

Ramona stared at Stephen and raised an eyebrow at him. "What? I don't know, do you?"

"DO WE? WE DO!" Stephen yelled, gripping his hair once again and started to pull at it.

"Shut the hell up and start over!" I yelled at him. I counted us in and we started to play our set list again. From what I could hear, it was a lot better than the first time. Guess practice is the key to success.

"That was…better." Stephen said, trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, hey, Kim, we have another thing tonight…we're meeting at Lee's after their show." Scott told me. It gave me pleasure to say what I was about to say next.

"Actually boys, I'm busy. I've got a hot date tonight." I said, smiling to myself. I looked at Scott and Stephen, expecting them to bombard me with questions of who it was and how it happened.

…

…

It never came.

"A hot date with a collage you're doing?" Scott asked.

"A hot date with a 2000-piece puzzle depicting the Bluenose II?" Stephen said, throwing in his guess.

"Okay, did it ever occur to you that I might actually _have_ a date?"

…

…

Again, silence.

"Kim, you're a hell of a catch." Scott said.

"You're a damn find woman, _damn_ fine." Stephen added. I just wanted to stab them with my drumsticks, nurse them back to health, then STAB them again.

"Whatever, let's just play the set list against, assholes…" I said irritably as I counted us in again.

_Sons of bitches all of them…_

After our third run through of the set list, Stephen pulled Scott and me into the kitchen to have a band meeting.

"Why are we in your kitchen?" Scott asked, a little confused.

"Because we're having a secret band meeting!"

"Do you think someone is spying on us?" Scott asked as Stephen looked out the kitchen window to make sure.

"I don't know. But better safe than sorry right?"

"You two are idiots." I said to them as they both looked at me.

"Ok…I've called you here because. Well, compared to the Clash at Demonhead…we suck."

"That's no secret." I said to Stephen.

"That's why…we need costumes." He said to me and Scott. Scott got excited. I shook my head in disapproval.

"Really? Costumes? Really?" I repeated.

"Costumes? Awesome! I want to be batman!" Scott said as Stephen slapped his own forehead.

"NO! Not that kind of costume. Look…I'm not asking we get super dressed up. I'm just saying we need a theme."

"Well most of our songs are about…well, to put it in subtly, how Julie is a bitch and is constantly destroying your soul." I said, thinking back at all of our songs. Maybe sixty percent of them are about Julie being admiral jerk of the royal douchery. In fact one of our songs is titled that, but that's a different issue all together.

"Are you saying all our songs are dark and emo Kim?" Stephen asked me but then looked at Scott.

"Yeah." I answered.

"A little bit…"

"Why hasn't anyone told me this?"

"Because you're the talent! Do you think Kim and I can make music?" Scott said to him. "Besides…all we do is play the notes you tell us to."

Stephen started to think, and when he starts to think, bad things happen. Especially to me.

"If that's the case…then why not dress in all back for Sunday."

"You mean tomorrow…" I corrected.

"OUR GIG IS TOMORROW?" Stephen freaked out as both Scott and I tried to calm him down. Two minutes later we were back in 'meeting' mode.

"Okay, well I have a get up in my closest. Scott can borrow my suit. What about you Kim?" Stephen asked me. I really did not want to say it, but it would be a pain if I had to make a new dress in less that twenty-four hours.

"Well…I have a gothic Lolita dress I've been working on for the last few months." I admitted as they both looked at me.

"Awesome! Bring that, and we'll be golden."

"How exactly is dressing up going to make us be better? Someone didn't tell me that yet!" I yelled at them as they headed back to the living room. "Someone please tell me. Someone." I pleaded to an empty room.

_Bitches and whores, all of them._

* * *

I found myself staring at Jason's door, my arms full of sewing stuff and a dress draped around my shoulder. Somehow the hot date that I was planning turned into an art project. Now why wasn't I inside by now? Because I didn't knock on the door yet. I've been staring at his door for the past twenty minutes.

_I don't know I if I should I mean…there's that whole thing were we slept together. And the part where I had to leave right away to get to my job. Oh man when he sees me he'll think I'm just some whore that's using this as an excuse to come see him._

I raised my hand, finally getting the courage to knock on his door and gave it two loud knocks. After a few seconds I heard footsteps approach the door. It opened and there stood Jason Kim, not surprised to see me, but the feeling wasn't mutual. I found myself getting really nervous again.

"Hey there Kim." He said to me, but it just flew over my head. "Uh…do you want to come in?"

I nodded as I walked in and placed my stuff down on the nearest table. Jason closed the door behind me and walked over to my unfinished dress and felt the fabric.

"Wow…this is some good stuff you're working with." He said as I tried to find the right words.

"Yeah, you know. Good fabric is hard to come by. With all the paper fabric and the plastic fabric and the wooden fabric…"

"Wooden fabric…?"

"I'll shut up now." I said as I sat on the floor and took my dress, trying to find out where I left off. Jason walked to me and sat down next to me.

"Are you ok?"

"…Sort of. I guess. I don't know…" I said, tossing the dress down and placing my face in my hands. There were some many things going through my head at that moment.

_I needed to finish the dress, remember my parts for the band, and oh yeah, the guy that I slept with is standing right next to you. You have to dry out those heels because the other heels makes you look like a whore. Let's not forget the black nail polish that's SOMEWHERE in the ball of crap that is my room._

"Hey hey, calm down Kim." Jason's voice echoed through my head as I felt his embrace. I felt my troubles slowly melt away as I also melted in his embrace. It felt nice. It was simple, easy, uncomplicated…something that's been missing in my life. "One thing at a time. We'll finish this dress first. Then we'll go out and do something…" He said to me as I turned to him.

"You actually want to help me finish my dress?" I asked. "And you want to go out with me?"

"Yeah…I think you're a sweet, hardworking, beautiful girl that deserves a little respect and affection. You claim to be cold, dark, and sinister, but deep down you're still a little girl wanting attention. And I'm not afraid to give you all the attention you want." He said hugging me tighter. I let out a sigh of pleasure as I took in all of his warm embrace.

"So what do you have in mind after this project?"

"How about…a walk in the park. There's an awesome playground nearby. You can tell me all about yourself there. Then we can come back to get warm and watch a movie. Popcorn available upon request. Want to know what flavors?" He said as I pushed him a bit.

"I hope it's not as long as your ridiculous selection of hot chocolate." I said as I looked up at him. "But that sounds great. First through…we need to finish this!" I said, picking up the dress and tossing it on the ground again.

"Well then…shall we get to work?"

* * *

Sunday 5:30 pm

"Check out my rad haircut! Totally ready for the show now!" Scott said as he was now pumped. I started at his haircut, not really impressed.

"Yeah…great." Stephen said.

"That's a haircut? You got a haircut?" I said sarcastically.

"So we're really gonna do this?" Stephen asked as we all sat around the table. Neil was walking around the house with a sandwich and coffee in his hand.

"C'mon, yeah! It'll be fun. This is like, our moment, dude."

"A moment that will live in horrible infamy forever." I added as Stephen grabbed his hair again.

"Erg…"

"Then it's settled!"

_It better be settled, I was up all night working on that dress! And for other reasons…_

"Yeah, I guess. Why not? It's not like I have a reputation to uphold." I said to them as Stephen started to bang his head on the table.

"It's…erg. I dunno. I'm worried."

"It's not like before, dude!" Scott said, comforting him. "We're better! Our songs rock! Your songs rock! It's just us! And it's fun, okay? We're gonna relax and mess with them and it's not gonna be like before."

"What's before?" I said, suddenly intrigued by Scott's statement. "What happened before?"

"Kid Chameleon."

"Kid Chameleon…"

"Kid Chameleon?" I asked

"Yes indeed."

* * *

Lee's Palace that night…

"You guys came to see these assholes twice?" Scott asked my co-worker Hollie and her gay room Joseph.

"Uh…no, we came to see you." Hollie said as I turned to him.

"I put them on our guest list doof."

"I came for Todd Ingram and Todd Ingram alone." Joseph said as Ramona shook her head in disbelief, taking a sip out of her drink that Scott graciously bought her.

"I used to date him." She said with a small smirk her hair now a nice light blue. I, myself, decided to grow out my hair a bit. I kinda missed my long red hair.

"Okay, talk amongst yourselves. I gotta go check on Stephen Stills. He's in the bathroom throwing up, can you believe it?" Scott said to everyone in the general direction. I looked over in Scott's direction and simply replied.

"Yes."

_I'm not surprised though. Afterall, when Scott left, Stephen went straight to the Jack Daniels bottle like a fat kid to cake. Drinking in mid-day is always a bad idea…_

"Hey…Did you really have a date last night, or what?" Ramona asked me as I looked over at her.

_Crap…uh…think of something to keep her occupied…_

"Huh? Oh, no…I was at home in my room all night. Scrapbooking." I said to her. Ramona went wide eye on me as she took a few steps backwards.

"I…see."

"I also had a very nice bath." I said as I thought back to last night.

_I guess what I said wasn't a complete lie. I mean I did enjoy the bath. Especially when Jason decided to come in afterall…_

"WAKE UP!"

We all looked over at the stage and saw what can only be described as three engineers straight from a video game were on stage. I raised my eyebrow as the people up there soon became recognizable.

_Oh my God…is that…?_

"Prepare to have your minds obliterated by…THE BOYS! And Crash!"

I felt by brain twitch as I saw Crash and the Boys up there with no instruments, just rubber gloves, goggles, and all black attire. "Looks like Crash and the Boys had a hostile takeover." I said to Hollie and them, noticing that Joel was now running the show and not Crash. But oddly enough, even without instruments, The Boys and Crash were playing music. Granted, it wasn't great…but it was still music. Which says a lot for that band. As I watched the Boys and Crash play, I saw a drink come into my line of sight. The person offering it was Ramona. Smiling, I took it and peering deep into the glass.

"It's just Jack and Coke." She said to me as she leaned up against the railing I was sitting on.

"Thanks Ramona. You're not that bad of a girl." I said to her as I took a sip. "If Scott likes you then I like you."

Ramona smiled at my comment. "Thanks Kim. That means a lot. Scott keeps telling me about how cold you've become since he last saw you in high school."

"I guess you can say it was Scott's fault…"

"I know it's a touchy subject…but do you mind if I ask how…"

"…you mean how Scott and I got together?" I finished her sentence. There was a moment of pause between us. I meant what I said. _If Scott likes you then I like you._ I took another sip of the friendship drink Ramona handed to me and looked up at the ceiling.

"I was obsessed with this guy Simon." I started. Ramona looked up at me, giving me her full undivided attention.

"Putting his picture in your locker obsessed or sacrificial pagan ritual obsessed?"

"Um…the former…"

"Okay, go on…"

"It wasn't really happening. He went to another school. We kind of dated for a bit and it was kind of fizzling. So then Scott showed up, and…yeah." I said to her as the images of Simon's face starting shooting into my mind.

_His despair…his pain…the look in his eyes when I broke his heart…_

"In retrospect, he was kind of a dick, Simon. Well, Scott too, I guess." More images of Scott's initial punch flashed in my head. The sounds of Scott punching and kicking Simon…it was all I heard for a couple of seconds.

"That's it?"

"Yeah…" I said, trying to drown out my thoughts again with The Boys and Crash's music.

"Okay, Canadians are officially boring people." Ramona said, now uninterested in my story.

"I told you I don't want to talk about it!" I said, now regretting the decision to tell her. The memories, the sounds…I couldn't forget. I could never forget. "It's ancient history. I moved down here last year and Scott was…well exactly the same, but completely different. You know?" I said looking away from Ramona. "Something happened to him. Envy Adams, I guess."

"That unbelievable bitch."

I looked up to look at Ramona in the eyes but something else caught my attention. Something that wasn't important as Ramona, but god damn distracting nevertheless.

"Hey, what's everybody-"

My vision was locked on a dark corner of Lee's Palace. In that corner stood Todd Ingram and Lynette making out. Well, making out is such a vague phrase in this case. They were eating each other's face as if it was make of cookies.

"…staring at? Oh." Ramona said as we all saw it.

"Grossss." I said, wanting to look away from that…but cannot peel my eyes off the grotesqueness of them kissing…no, eating…no, devouring each other's faces with a ridiculous amount of tongue.

"You'd think he'd improve with age…" Ramona said, looking at Todd and remembering something about their past.

"I think it's time for another drink." Said Joseph.

* * *

_10 horrific minutes later…_

"Well, well. Looks who's back. Feeling any better big guy?" I taunted as Stephen Stills, survivor of sixteen shots of whiskey before coming here, was now standing against the railing I was one.

"What is with this band? They've…changed. Have you notice they don't have instruments?" Stephen pointed out. I already noticed but I played along with his rant, just to humor him. "Where's all the amazing noise coming from?"

"Magic, I'm guessing?" I ask, honestly giving my opinion.

"Huh…I hadn't noticed. I wonder if they'll play an important role later this evening?" Ramona said, finishing her gin and tonic.

"That would imply a future beyond the next twenty minutes. Let's go, Kim." Stephen said to me as I hopped off the railing.

"Yeah yeah…"

"Oh, you guys are on now? Where's Scott been hiding anyways?" Ramona asked as Stephen and I started to head backstage.

"He's probably back there getting ready. We have secret plans. Check you later Rammy." I said, but then realized I made a mistake.

_Oh dammit, did I call her Rammy? More importantly, did I call her by Scott's precious nickname for her? Oh God…I think I'm going to be sick._

_Backstage..._

"Thanks Jason." I said as Jason came in from the back to give me the finished dress. "I can't believe you're not able to stay to watch us play…" I said as he held the dress that he and I spent the night working on.

"I'm sorry Kim. But I have to do this for work. I'm really sorry." Jason apologized but I leaned in and gave him a small kiss on the lips.

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you later tonight right?" I said, giving him a small smile. He smiled back.

"Of course…"

Just as we broke apart, Scott walked in and saw us two. He stared at us…we stared at him. Finally, he walked over to Jason and extended his hand to him.

"Hey dude. Scott Pilgrim." He said as Jason shook his hand. I continued to stare at Scott as Jason introduced himself again.

"Jason Kim."

"Jason…KIM?" He said, looking at me.

"Haha very funny. Now let's go you tool. We have a show to do. I'll see you later Jason" I waved as I pushed Scott forward to the back.

_Of course he's going to forget him…I wouldn't be surprised if he forgets him again…_

_10 minutes later…_

"Dear God look what's happening out there…" Stephen said, peeking out from backstage to see a group of people cheer and rooting for something. I looked out as well, now in my gothlic Lolita dress, trying to figure out what was going on out there.

"Looks like a fight or something…" I said, giving my two cents. It was hard to see with all the people blocking the view.

"So are we ready guys?" Scott asked us as we both nodded.

"It's now or never." I said to them as we slowly made it on stage. Everyone was paying attention to the fight happening in the back to notice us setting up.

"Alright. All good here…"

"Bass check…"

"I'm ready." I said to Stephen, waiting for his signal.

Stephen nodded as I ran up to the edge of the stage and extended my arms in the air. I took a deep breath and yelled

"**WE ARE SEX BOB-OMB!** WE ARE HERE TO MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT DEATH AND GET SAD AND STUFF!"

Suddenly all the attention was on us. The crowd that was watching the fight was now slowly dissipating, revealing an injured Knives on the ground, Ramona trying to help her up, and Envy reaching for what looks like a giant stone mace.

"Go play drums. G'wan!" Stephen yelled at me, breaking my analysis of the fight.

"I know! Shut up!" I said as I tried to look back at what was about to happen with Knives, Ramona, and Envy.

"Okay, count it in." I heard Stephen tell me but I just saw Scott jump off stage, heading towards Envy who was now wielding the heavy mace and was about to make herself a Knives and Ramona pancake.

"Uh…Scott?"

But he was fast…Scott manage to get there in no time and with one quick motion…she was down.

_Whoa…that was some speed and…wait. Did he poke her behind the knee? What the hell was that? Why did he do that? Is he…_

Just then I remembered something….something in the past…something that I thought I have long forgotten.

…_.SON OF A BITCH! He used that same move on me when we were dating! SCOTT PILGRIM!_

"TODD! KILL THEM!" I heard Envy scream as we all looked around, watching out for the bassist of Clash at Demonhead. But never came.

"Todd? I haven't seen him since-" Scott started but Ramona cut him off.

"Yeah, that's funny! Where is he?"

"What are you-"

"Todd's cheating on you with your drummer, you stupid ho! He's creep and you're a bitch and you all deserve each other!"

_Damn Ramona…low blow_ I thought, but smiled at the same time. _Maybe it won't be so bad if she and I were friends._

"That's bull! Todd loves me! He'll love me forever! He's kind, sensitive, caring, thoughtful, talented, kind, and pure-hearted! We've been best friends since we were eleven!" Envy retorted.

Then Envy started telling her sob story about how she and Todd got to know each other and how he proved his love to her. To tell you the truth the story was a bit boring. But there was one part of the story that made sense…in fact, it shed some light on the whole situation.

"…and that's how I knew he truly loves me and we'll always be together forever and ever!" Envy yelled as we all looked at her in disbelief.

"Envy…" Ramona started. "It only gives me the teeniest bit of pleasure to say this, but…the thing with the moon? When we were in high school, Todd did the exact same thing for me. He did it for me first."

Envy stood there in silence, trying to process the information. There was no doubt about. The facts were against her…and against Todd.

"Is that why there are-"

"two holes in the moon? Um…yeah." Ramona completed her though as Envy had a flash in insight.

_So then Todd came back…_

We all started as Todd Ingram came back to Lee's Palace, underwear on his head, a distinguishing look on his face, and a newly zipped up fly. Right behind him? Lynette, the drummer. It was an uncomfortable silence. We all knew what we were thinking…but what was going on Envy's head was something that no one could easily predict.

"So…uh…what'd I miss?" Todd said. I cringed at Todd, knowing the pain that was about to befall him.

"Whose are they?" Envy yelled as she ran over to Todd and shoved her.

"Wha?"

"The panties on your head!"

"Oh, um…how did that happen? That's crazy!" Lynette said as she quickly snatched them off Todd's head. The head of steam that was building inside Envy suddenly erupted. Still wielding the heavy mace, she looked at Lynette with the intent to kill.

"You! Right under my nose this whole time? You're so fired!" Envy said as she swung the mace at her.

"Whatever! Sayonara suckers!" She said as she began to phase out of the room.

"Envy! She's teleporting!" Ramona yelled.

"SHE CAN TRY!"

The mace crashed into her bionic arm, forcing it to stop teleporting and fall to the ground, still holding the panties.

"Fancy a bionic arm?" I asked Ramona.

"I'll mount the arm on my bedroom wall if you paste Lynette's underwear in your scrapbook." She said to me as I sulked. _Guess this scrapbook joke has gone far enough._

"Okay, come on. I was messing with you before. As if I have a scrapbook. I've just been working on this stupid secret dress all weekend." I said to her.

"Oh, man, that's a relief. I guess we can keep being friends."

_Yeah…wait, what?_

"Let's BOTH be girls!" I heard Envy scream as I saw Envy knee Todd right in the groin. Todd's eyes glowed, his hair shot straight up. Almost instantly, Todd shot Envy with a blast of psychic energy which caused her to fling her towards the stage and crash against it. Envy fell onto the ground, limp. There was silence across the whole Palace.

"That's right, I'm not afraid to hit a girl! I'm a rock star losers-"Todd started, flipping us all the bird before being interrupted…by a 4 string Fender bass guitar delivered by Scott. I felt my heart leap as Scott finally landed a blow on him.

_Get him Scott! Teach his vegan ass a lesson!_

"Oh, it's on, Pilgrim. You're going down…" Todd said as he used his powers to grab hold of his bass guitar and brought it to him. "…vegan style."

_A bass battle?_

In that second, Todd Ingram started ripping on the bass guitar like a pro. Fretting, picking, hammering all of the notes into an incredible bass solo. We all stood there stunned.

_He's good…_

"That's right Pilgrim…I actually know how to play bass." He said as he did a powerful downward strum and blasted Scott backwards with a combination of bass and psychic powers.

"If you're so good at bass, why are you still zapping me with psychic powers, you chode?" Scott yelled at him as I saw Ramona go check on Envy. She made an indication that she was ok which was a huge sigh of relief for everyone. Soon, Crash and the Boys…or Boys and the Crash were backing up Scott.

_What the hell? Crash and the Boys? I mean the Boys and Crash…frickin' them! They're helping them? Actually with their ability to make music out of thin air, maybe there was a chance that they can even the odds against Todd's vegan powers…_

But again…I was wrong. After ten seconds of combined attack from them and Scott, they were no match to Todd's psychic powers and powerful bass guitar. It would take a miracle for Scott to win.

_Come on…you can do it Scott. Ramona needs you! We need you! Dammit I need you!_

I watched Scott struggle to get up after that last attack and I clenched my drumsticks tight.

_So this is what Scott Pilgrim is made off? Is this all you have? For the love of God, GET UP!_

"FREEZE!"

We all looked over to see two guys pointing their fingers at Todd in a shape of a gun. I looked at them and blinked a few time, wondering who they were and if they really think their finger guns will help them against a vegan psychic.

"VEGAN POLICE!"

_Oh Jesus…really?_

"Todd Ingram, you're under arrest for veganity violation!"

"What'd I do? What authority do you represent?" Todd yelled at them, fingers still pointing at him. "You can't do this! I didn't do anything! You can't prove anything! I'M A ROCKSTAR!"

"We have it on record that at 12:27 this afternoon you did knowingly consume a restricted food item." The larger vegan cop said.

"Gelato, bitch."

"What? It…it wasn't me!" Todd said to them.

"Hang on…are you saying gelato isn't vegan?" Envy said, a bit confused.

"It contains milk and eggs, ma'am."

Envy stayed silent for a minute. "…is chicken parmesan vegan?"

The two cops looked at each other questioningly.

"Is it?"

"I'm not sure. Isn't a 'parmesan' like a rodent or something?"

…_what kind of cops are these? _ I thought to myself at the stupidity of these people.

"You lied to me!" Envy yelled, hitting Todd in the arm.

"The rules are simple, Todd." One cop said.

"No began diet, no vegan power, bitch." The other cop said.

And in that instance, a green ray blasted from both of the cop's finger tips, getting Todd in point blank range. Soon, his hair, and his eyes went dull. We all stared at him as he looked at his hair, now sagging below his eyebrows.

"NNNOOO!" Todd yelled as Scott took the opportunity and cocked back his head and landed a devastating headbutt to the dome of Todd Ingram.

BOK

POOM

And just like that, Todd Ingram was no more.

_Few minutes and an extra life later…_

"So, are you…uh…okay?" Scott asked to no one in general.

"Who are you asking?" Ramona asked.

"Uh…in general. All y'all."

"I'm fine. Envy's the one who-" Ramona started but was cut off

"Am I…?" Envy replied. "You just headbutted my best friend so hard he burst, Scott."

"But…but he was a no-good cheating dickwad!"

"I guess…"

"Kim?" Scott said, looking down at me.

"Yeah…?"

"Are you okay?" My eye twitched at his question.

"What? Nothing even happened to me! I was just sitting here wearing a dress! Knives is the one who-" I started but then Knives spoke up.

"I'll be find. Neil's here." She said. "I just…I think you should…you should play. Sex Bob-omb. There are hundreds of people here to see a rock show, and the headlining band is kind of, uh…"

"Oh…" Scott said as we both looked at each other then at the surrounding area. Todd was now a mess of coins, Lynette teleported away, and Envy was in an emotional shock.

_Guess that's the end of Clash at Demonhead._

Scott nodded at me as I got up, signaling Stephen to come on up. We all took center stage, with Scott Pilgrim on bass, Stephen Stills on guitar and vocals, and me, Kim Pine on drums. I took a deep breath and raised my drumsticks in the air.

"WE ARE SEX BOB-OMB! ONE TWO THREE FOUR!"

We played for the hundreds of Clash at Demonhead fans. Some were really digging out beat, others were trying to get away from the sounds, and some were pointing at us and talking. Either way, we were getting buzz about our band. At this point in my life, I was content. I wasn't super happy…but content. Our band finally headlined a show even though the original band kinda blew up, I'm now dating a guy that appreciates me although we're not technically 'together' yet, we just defeated one of Ramona's evil ex's but god knows how many ex's are left, and I'm now comfortable playing in front of this big crowd although every once in awhile I forget a note.

Everything's fine in the world.

I scanned over the heads of the hundreds of people that were in Lee's Palace that day. I noticed that Scott was staring down at one man with glasses but I thought nothing of it. I just noticed Ramona, Hollie, Joseph, and all of our friends having a good time. It made me smile.

At least until I noticed myself in the crowd, staring back at me with those blood red eyes.

* * *

End of Chapter 3

So want me to continue the LONG chapters or continue breaking them in parts? This was requested by a reviewer that I make it one long part, so to NeoSpearBlade, this one's for you.


	7. Chapter 4a

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

I also don't own the dialog taking from Bryan Lee O'Malley's short comic strip titled "The wonderful world of kim pine." if you haven't read it yet, it's online.

A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing my story! So here it is, the long awaited book 4. As you can see, I've decided to break chapter 4 into parts. The sheer magnitude of this chapter could not be held down in one long fic so I had to break it down in moderately long chapters. I hope you like my interpretations of this book and please review and give feedback.

There is a method to my madness, so please bear with me. You'll get what you wanted, I promise. (you'll know what I mean soon enough).

Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.

* * *

"Lisa?" said Scott.

I was brought over to the lunch table that Scott Pilgrim and another girl ate every lunch period. Not that I'm a stalker or anything, but you tend to notice the people that your crush hangs around with. In this case, people that my boyfriend hangs around with. A girl with shoulder length blonde hair looked up at me. Her eyes stared at me judgingly as the spoon filled with peas stopped halfway from her plate to her mouth. We locked eyes with each other as Scott looked back and forth between us.

"Uh…Lisa? This is Kim. Kim, Lisa." Scott said as he gestured over to Lisa. She lowered her spoon and extended her hand at me. I graciously shook her hand, feeling the tension lessen, but not fully broken between us.

"Nice to meet you Kim." She said to me with a flat, but pleasant tone. I saw Scott pull up a seat for me and I sat down, lowering my tray of food on the table. Scott pulled a seat next to me and sat down, looking over at Lisa.

"Pleasures all mine." I said right back.

"So Kim here agreed to be our new drummer." Scott said as he shoveled food into his mouth.

"Are you serious? That's awesome! Sonic and Knuckles finally has a drummer!" Lisa said, obviously excited about this. I raised an eyebrow at her and Scott. It's been twenty-four hours since Scott asked me to be their drummer…and twenty-four hours since we became an item. The first thing that comes out of his mouth is that I'm their new drummer?

"So how long have you been drumming?" I heard Lisa's voice say to me, breaking out of my train of thought.

"Oh, maybe for a year. I'm part of the band here at School…"

"You know that our band sucks right?" Lisa said bluntly, not impressed on my drumming background.

"You don't need to remind me." I said, staring off to the side.

"Are you any good?" Lisa asked me as I looked at her, insulted. I was about to say something but Scott cut me off right when I opened my mouth.

"Kim is the best! We saw her during that performance for the school, remember?" Scott said, mouth full and pieces of meat flying out of his mouth. I cringed at the sight, but I shouldn't complain. Afterall I'm the one that said yes.

"That's true. But that was the school's music. I don't mean any offense or anything Kim, but can you hold a beat?" Lisa asked me. Now deeply annoyed, I grabbed my tray and lifted it directly upward, toppling my plate of food and my bowl of fruits. They all splattered across the table as I placed the tray upside-down, along with placing the bowl and the plate on top of it. Picking up my fork and knife with each hand, I tapped them together, counting myself in as I started drumming on my make shift drum set. I started playing the drum beat that I was working on during band practice when everyone else was tuning their instrument with one another or beating each other over the head with them. I played so loudly that other students started to look over and notice what I was doing. As I scanned around, a few guys were bobbing their head with the beat, girls were talking amongst themselves, most likely about me, and the rest of the spectators were watching in awe. I looked at Scott, who was tapping his hand on the table with the beat and Lisa who was crossed armed but smiling at me. After I finished my set, placed my knife and fork down and looked at Lisa.

"Well?" I asked her.

"Alright…I'm impressed. Welcome to our band Kim. Glad to have you on board." Lisa smiled at me. I smiled back as I picked up my fork and looked over at Scott's tray.

"Come on Scott, let me have some. You didn't say I had to addition for the part. Now you owe me lunch." I said to him as he stopped eating and stared at me in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? This cost me six dollars!"

"And my lunch also cost me six dollar, now don't eat all the mash potatoes. I love mash potatoes." I said to him as I scoped a fork full and put it in my mouth.

"Alright! Now that we have a drummer we can start band practice! I think my garage is available but I have to double check. As far as drums goes, we'll have to find a way to sneak them out of the school, but we'll cross that bridge once we get there. Lunchapalooza is approaching so we really need to crack down on this!" Lisa said to us as we shared Scott's lunch between us.

"We're performing at Lunchapalooza?" I asked her.

"Of course! We'll shoot our school reputation through the roof with our performance. We'll automatically be cool!"

"And if we suck?"

"Pff, even if we suck, we're better than most of the talent in this place. We'll be known as the super awesome band that rocked out St. Joel's Catholic High School!" Lisa said, throwing her hands up in the air. "We have a lot of planning to do as well. Maybe some costumes will help. Oh! How about a theme? We can all dress up as…"

I didn't really listen to the rest of Lisa's speech. I was just happy that I'm turning my passion into a hobby. I looked over a Scott and made eye contact with him. We didn't say anything. I squeezed his hand under the table and he returned with a squeeze of his own. Smiling, I closed my eyes and scooted a bit closer to him, feeling the heat from his body transfer to mine.

"Hey Kim?" I heard Lisa's voice. I opened my eyes to see that we were outside of school. Everyone was heading back to the bus or towards their parents car. I found myself starting right at Lisa, the look of concern and curiosity was on her face. I blinked a few times before answering her call to me.

"Uh…yes?"

"I know this is kind of a personal question. But it's just something I gotta ask you." She started as she walked off to the side, not wanting to make eye contact with him. "I mean…we've known each other for about two months and in those two months I noticed something."

"What did you notice?" I asked her. She turned around, her back now facing me. She really didn't want to ask me face to face.

"That you're very close to Scott."

For reason my heart sank. Up to now we haven't exactly told her that Scott and I were going out.

"Oh…"

"So I take it as a 'yes' then?" Lisa asked me.

"'Yes' what?" I asked her right back. She still didn't turn around. I didn't think she wanted to.

"Are you going out with Scott Pilgrim?"

I looked down at the ground when she asked that. Now suddenly I didn't want her to look up at my face. The shame of us not telling her all this time and that she had to ask us if we were dating…it made me feel bad inside. But I knew it didn't feel as bad as how Lisa was feeling right now.

"Yeah…" I simply answered.

"And you didn't tell me? I thought we were best friends. Remember the lunch incident with Scott and Rodger? That was a real bonding experience. I figured you were going to be one of my best friends but if you can't tell me something as simple as…"

"But we are best friends Lisa! Friends to the end!" I yelled back at her.

"Then why couldn't you tell me about you and Scott?" She asked, I heard her voice crack a bit when she said it, obviously angry but also in tears. I knew the answer to the question. And I knew how she would react to my next statement as well.

"…because I know how you feel about him." I said to her.

We both stood there in silence. A majority of all the students have left campus so it was only Lisa and me left. She crossed her arms and looked off to her right before asking me another question, a question that I couldn't answer at that time.

"…so do you love him?"

"I don't know." I answered her honestly. "I really don't know…"

We stayed silent for another minute. Lisa took a deep breath turned her head forward.

"Alright. I get it. I accept you and Scott." She said to me as I looked at her, surprised by her answer.

"You what?"

"I accept you guys as a couple. You guys are my best friends so it's only right that I support your unconditional love for each other."

"What? Unconditional love? I didn't say I was in love with the guy."

"But you didn't say you weren't!"

"That's a logical fallacy and you know it!" I yelled her, now laughing at her. She started to laugh as we, finally turning around to see me. Her eyes were a bit red, but she was wearing a genuine smile.

"It's alright Kimmy. We all know you love him…but if you hurt him then you'll have to answer to big sister Lisa ok?" She said to me, coming over and giving me a hug. I returned her hug and rested my head on her shoulder.

"…thank you Lisa."

"Anytime Kim."

I felt the form of Lisa fall apart in my arms and saw the environment around me shift and change. The trees and school of St. Joel's Catholic High School collapsed into the ground as wall suddenly came forth, trapping my inside a small room. But the room was very familiar to me. In fact, it was the girls room inside the school.

"Hey Kim?" Lisa's voice called from the sink. I turned around to see that she was wearing a black strapless dress that went down all the way to the ground. Her hair was tied in a blonde bun as she was applying makeup on her face. I walked over to the closest mirror and looked at my own reflection. My long red hair was also tied in a bun like Lisa's. My dress was a self tailored dress, forest green to highlight the color different between my hair and my dress. There was some makeup on me, but not a lot. There was also a necklace around my neck. A necklace that was given to me by Scott for our one year anniversary.

"Kim?" Lisa repeated.

"Huh? Yeah?"

"This prom is pretty awesome don't you think?" Lisa asked me as I looked over at her, smiling.

"Yeah. This is pretty awesome." I admitted to her.

"Can I ask you a personal question? It's not Scott related." She quickly added the end part since I had a policy of talking about Scott with her.

"Sure."

"What do you see in your future?" She asked me. I haven't really thought about it. The future wasn't something that I was really concerned about at the time. I gave it some thought, but nothing definite came to mind.

"Uh…I'm not really sure Lisa. Why? What do you see in your future?" I returned the question. Lisa, on the other hand, was ready to answer that question.

"Mmm…I think of going to college to become an actor. Like a real actor. Ones you see on the big screen, you know?" She said as I smiled.

"I think you can do it. Afterall, you've been the main character for all the school plays. Even when the role was a male role, you were still able to get it." I said to her, reassuring her dominance over the stage.

"Haha. Thanks Kim. But outside from here it'll get a lot harder. I guess I'm kinda worried about my future. It's dumb I know…" Lisa said, her voice trailing off as I walked over to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, hugging her.

"You are the most talented girl I've ever met. If those people out there deny you, then they're really missing out."

Lisa turned to me and smiled. "Thanks Kim. I really needed that."

I released her and looked at my hair, almost ready to go out and continue to dance with Scott on the dance floor.

"So you really don't think about the future?" Lisa asked as he moved a stray hair back.

"Not really…"

"Doesn't that make you scared of what's to come?"

"I guess…" I admitted before walking towards the door. "…but as long as I have Scott, I have nothing to fear."

I pushed open the door, expecting to be in the main hall of our school, but I found myself back outside of the school. I was no longer wearing my forest green prom dress but the school uniform. In front of me was Lisa, who looked worried and nervous. I stared intently at her before she looked up at me.

"So I'm guessing you heard." She started as I looked at her confused.

"Heard what?" I asked as he crossed her arms.

"About Scott." I felt my heart sink again as I walked over to her.

"What did you hear about Scott?" I asked, annoyed and angry. "What did you hear about him?" I yelled as Lisa back up away from her, now scared to see me.

"Scott is moving…away." She squeaked out. I looked at her with disbelief.

"No. No he's not. He's staying here. Where did you hear this?" I asked her a she looked down at the ground.

"Scott told me."

"Wait…Scott told YOU but he didn't tell ME?"

"I thought you knew Kim." Lisa said, surprised by my reaction but still unable to look at me. I felt my head spin. I dropped to my knees and placed my hands on the ground, keeping my body up.

"…he told you but not me?"

"I'm sorry Kim. I honestly thought you knew."

"So that's why he was avoiding me…"

"Kim, please don't take it too hard. He's not leaving for another three days."

"That's why he didn't want to return my calls…"

"Kim, please get up. You have to see Scott and talk to him about it. You have to!" Lisa yelled, walking over and placing a hand on my shoulder. Suddenly anger filled my chest as I swatted away Lisa's hand with full force. She winched in pain and backed away from me.

"OW! Kim! What the hell!"

"YOU!" I yelled, tears falling from my eyes. "This is YOUR fault!"

"Kim! What are you talking about…"

"You're lying to me! I know you are!"

"I swear to you I'm not lying to you Kim! Please listen to me! You need to find Scott. You need to talk to him about this. Maybe there is a way you can…"

"Shut up! You're trying to break me and Scott up!"

"I would never do that!"

"You're trying to break me and Scott up because you're in love with him Lisa! You're in love with Scott frickin' Pilgrim! Admit it!" I yelled her, walking towards her. Lisa starting walking backwards at a faster pace.

"There's nothing to admit! I never wanted to break you and Scott up! Kim please-"

"Shut up you….you….WHORE!" I yelled with all my might. Lisa stared at me, a mixture of shock and fear took over her body. "I…I loathe you! I…I never want to see you or hear from you ever again!" I yelled as I turned around and started running. I didn't care where, I just couldn't stay here. I couldn't say near Lisa.

I feared I would have done something bad if I stayed…

So I kept running. Kept running until I couldn't run anymore. I stopped and propped myself next to the nearest wall and started to cry. Tears streaming from my face. I didn't want to believe it. I couldn't believe it. But deep down…I knew it was true. I felt the wall that I was leaning on, and at the ground I was standing on…I wasn't outside anymore. I was in the girl's bathroom again, alone, cold, and heartbroken. I heard the door open and someone approached me. She didn't try to touch me or walk right past me. She just stood there near the door, looking at me.

"Kim it's been four days since he left…" I heard Lisa's voice say to me. I didn't respond. "The teachers asked me to check up on you so here I am." She continued but I didn't turn around. "Please Kim…please come back. It's not the end of the world." Still nothing from me. "There's a side of you that existed. A side of you that existed BEFORE Scott. Bring her back Kim. We're all waiting for her." She said to before leaving the bathroom. I looked behind me to make sure she was gone before going to the sink. I splashed my face with cold water, trying to refresh myself for class but nothing I did made me feel any better.

**She's right you know. There is a side of you that existed before Scott showed up. I wonder what happened to her…**

I didn't respond. I found myself in control of my dream self again. I didn't want to turn around. I didn't want to deal with the darkness that was looming over my shoulder.

**Maybe this is her. A sad, pathetic, vengeful girl who will forever be tied up by the ghost of Scott Pilgrim.**

I allowed the water to run, creating an ambient noise to help me cancel out the taunts from my other self.

**Oh poor me…left by the man that I thought would be the love of my life. Angry at the only person that cared for me as a friend. A girl who broke the heart of guy that sent me letters of adoration and love. Oh woe with me for I am Kimberly Pine. A sad, alone, angry, vengeful bitch!**

I clenched my fist in anger.

_You are NOT me!_

**Are you sure?**

I looked up at the mirror and my eyes shot open with horror. I saw those blood red eyes staring back at me in the mirror, with a mischievous grin spreading across her face.

I woke up, sitting up on my bed and breathing hard. I was back in my room. I looked at my arms and body, making sure that I was still me and not my darker self. I looked over at the body mirror that stood in the corner of my room and gulped. I got out of bed and walked over to the mirror, eyes closed. When I thought I was standing right in front of it, I opened my eyes quickly.

I saw myself in the reflection.

I sighed as I looked around my room then out the window. It was still two in the morning and I can hear my roommate Sara pacing in her room above mine. Her pacing wasn't the thing that was annoying me though. It was the sudden appearance of one person in my dream.

_Lisa Miller…_

Voice4TheMute presents…

I couldn't go back to sleep. Not that I was scared to go back to sleep, but I literally couldn't go back to sleep. Looking over at my nightstand, next to the poorly drawn sheep picture, was my old walkman. I picked it up and opened the case to see that the last CD I was listening to was the CD from Clash at Demonhead.

_Eh, might as well. I mean…they're no more so might as well pay tribute to them._

I turned on the walkman, placed the speakers on my ears, laid in bed and started to get absorbed into the music. After what seemed to be one complete song, I heard knocking at my door. The door opened to reveal Sara.

"I'm going to bed. Could you please turn your music down, Kim?" She asked me as I took off my headphones and looked at my walkman. The volume was set at eight. I looked over at Sara questioningly.

"What? It's on headphones."

"I can hear it tinkling, and it's kind of even more annoying that way, y'know?" Sara said.

"Uh…okay. I'll turn it down…" I said, a bit confused on what she meant, but I didn't want to start any problems. I turned the volume all the way down to one and laid back in bed, indulging in the music again. But after half a minute, there was a loud pounding from my ceiling…or should I say floor of Sara's room. Irritated, I got up from my bed and walked out the hall to the staircase that led to the rooms on the second floor. "Sara! What's the problem?"

"I told you to turn it down!"

"It's on headphones!" I yelled at her, trying to get it through her dumb blonde head.

"I can hear it!"

_WHAT THE- "_I can't even hear it! I turned it down to one!"

"I can hear it!"

I felt my eye twitch as I stormed back in my room and shut the door as hard as I can just to annoy her. I went to my drawer and opened it, revealing a straw voodoo doll that had blonde hair like Sara. Taking the longest needle I had, I started to viciously stab at where the heart of the doll would be.

_Stupid blonde bimbo who can't even keep her damn legs closed. I'm right underneath your room you frickin' whore!_

_STAB STAB STAB_

_The next morning…_

"Mornin'." I said to Emily in the kitchen as I wandered in. I was wearing a navy blue blouse, cargo shorts, and high boots today. I figured after a night like last night, I needed a little self esteem pick-me-up. My roommate Emily was at our dinner table, eating some toast with coffee.

"Hey Kim." Emily replied

_Actually that looks pretty good. Maybe I'll have that._

I went to the cupboard and reached in the back. I found bag of bread and pulled it out.

_Good thing I still have two more slices of bread before I have to go out and get some more…wait a…_

I looked at the bag, now empty. "Hey, Emily? Are you eating my bread?"

"What? No!" She said defensively. It suddenly hit me that I saw Emily finish her loaf of bread two days ago.

"You totally are!" I yelled at her, shocked and sad at the same time.

"How was if your bread? It was in plain sight for anyone to eat!" She defended.

"Two slices left?" I yelled, pointed at the cupboard. "Hidden in the very back?"

"It's not like your name was on them."

I stared at her for a second before lifting up the empty plastic bag. On the front read:

**Kim's Bread**

"You're so possessive Kim, God." She told me, sipping her coffee. I was way too irritable to say. I turned around and hurried out the door to go to work, hungry, thirsty, and sad.

A story originally created by Bryan Lee O'Malley….

_At No-Account…_

"I just wanted to eat my bread, y'know?" I told Hollie as she patted me on the back. My head was buried in my arms and laying on the counter.

"I feel your pain."

"Do you feel it constantly? Is it like an eternal flame?" I asked, sitting up.

"There's only so much sympathy in the world kim." Hollie said.

"Well at least you're trying." I sighed, watching people look at the rentals.

"Listen, my roommate Carla is off to Vancouver soon." She started. "As soon as she's gone, you're moving in, okay?"

It was the best news I've heard all month.

"Are you serious?" I asked as Hollie shook her head. "Thanks Hollie. Really. Thank you."

_Back at Kim's…_

I walked back to my apartment to be greeted by a trail of clothes that ran from the staircase up to the second floor laundry room.

_Looks like there was a fight for the drying machine. That's odd though…the last I remember was that MY clothes were in the…son of a-_

I walked over and picked up a pair of panties. It didn't take me long to realize that they were mine. In fact, they were all mine. I eye twitched as I started to pick up my clothes off the ground and go upstairs to see what was the meaning of this. At the top leaning against the wall was my third roommate Tracy.

"Hey Tracy, why is my laundry everywhere?" I asked her, seeing if it was Sara or Emily that did this in an act of revenge.

"Huh? Oh…" Tracy started, taking the cigarette she lit out of her mouth and looked at me. "I guess you left it in the dryer or something."

"So…what? You just tossed it down the stairs in a senseless act of retribution? Am I being punished?" I asked her, my head barely able to see over my clothing pile in my arms.

"I didn't do nothin' man. It was prob'ly those other girls." She said as she placed the cigarette back in her mouth and took another drag. I was too busy getting my laundry basket from the laundry room and placing all my clothes in it. "Y'know. They're still in university and everything…they're like little kids. Don't know 'bout the real world."

"The _real world_? You're standing there smoking in your underwear!" I screamed at her. "You dress like a homeless person!"

And so I knifed her then and there. I watched her bleed to death in the hallway and I smiled for the first time this year.

"…really?" Hollie asked, cutting my story off of the confrontation I had with Tracy the other day. I looked at her seriously before burying my head in my hands.

"No."

"The part about smiling gave you away." She said to me, patting my back again.

Through My Eyes: 004a

"Ramona…"

"Shh. Don't you just wish this moment could last forever?"

"Ramona I luh-"

"Shhhhh."

"Luh-"

"Shhhhhhhhhh."

"L-let's make out?"

"Show me how!"

"Those two make my mouth taste like throw-up." Julie said as we both watch Scott and Ramona act lovey-dovey at the beach we were at. I couldn't stand the sight either. For one or more reasons.

"This is probably the only time I'll ever agree with you, but…I agree with you." I said to Julie as she winded up and threw the volleyball she was hold and nailed Scott right in the head, breaking his moment with Ramona.

"No shenanigans at my party, bitches!" Julie yelled as I suppressed a laugh. Random acts of violence is always funny, especially if it was aimed at Scott. As for today, we were all at the beach for Stephen Stills' birthday…or should I say Julie Powers' birthday. With their birthdays only a week apart, they decided to celebrate it at the midpoint. But Julie is the one that's taking it as if it's really her birthday party.

"How is it your party? I thought it was Stephen Still's birthday." I asked her.

"Mine was last Tuesday and Julie's is next Tuesday, so hers is technically active." Stephen defended as I stared coldly at him. _Man you're whipped. _

"Yeah. And My aunt is letting us use house in the beaches, Kim."

"Whoop-de-doo." I sarcastically said as I looked over at Scott as he slowly got up.

_Our beach group consisted of the usual cast. Scott, Ramona, Stephen, Julie, Neil, and me….oh and Knives. Not sure why she's here. Neil and Knives had some kind of spat over the summer. Not too sure what the deal was. But now she really hates him. Or dislikes him a lot…_

_Two hours later…_

"What are we gonna have for dinner?" Stephen asked, his arm around his on-and-off girlfriend Julie.

"I demand licks burger!" Scott instantly said.

_Urg…licks burger. I hate that place with the passion!_

"Uh, excuse me? Whose birthday is it, jerk?" Julie swooped in as my inner child cheered for her.

"Damn it! What do you want to eat?" Scott asked as we all stopped to listen to Julie's decision.

…

"…Licks burger."

_SON OF A-_

* * *

_After sunset at the beach…_

"This is so excruciating I'm so sick of all your hating!" Scott, Stephen, and I sang as Stephen strummed his guitar, I played my bongo drum, and Scott…well he tried his best to sing without playing anything. Around each of us was a healthy, er, unhealthy amount of alcohol ranging from crummy locally brewed beer that could be passed off as urine, urine that can be passed off as locally brewed beer, two big bottles of vodka, three bottles of rum, a bottle of Jameson, and jungle juice which contain all of it. We were lucky that no authority passed by because it was just a parade of alcohol at our bon fire site…not to mention that Knives Chau is underage and is three cups in the jungle juice.

"Wooooo!" Knives cheered as Stephen took a swig of his beer.

"Thanks."

"You know that song really pissed me off." Julie said to Stephen.

"Yeah? I played it just for you. Happy birthday baby." He said to her.

"Stephen. Most of your song just bore me to tears. But that one-" She started, lowering her beer. "That song is about ME, people! He thinks I'm a total bitch and a half!"

"Gasp." I said out loud, looking at her with no sympathy.

"You mean she doesn't know?" I heard Ramona whisper to Scott.

_I really couldn't care less what the song was about. Stephen told us to play it and we did. Besides…a majority of the songs are about you being a bitch and a half Julie._

I looked at the bottles around me to keep tab of what I drank.

_So far…three beers, two shots of vodka, I think a shot of Jameson, and two cups of Jameson. I think I'm at my limit…maybe…_

I thought to myself, feeling that my own thoughts were starting to get sluggish.

"But it's such a good song! You're missing the tenderness." Knives said to Julie, who just stared her down. "The narrator is sad and hurt, see? But the girl thinks it's all about her! Don't you get it? It's brilliant!" Knives rattled on, some of the beer trickling down her fingers.

"Uh-huh. Should we be letting her drink beer?" Julie asked us as we all looked at Knives.

"Okay, uh…let's play another one." Stephen said as I instinctively obeyed.

_Ok…maybe I can drink a few more and still be ok…_

* * *

_Julie's aunt's house (later)_

_Ok…that was a bad idea…_

I staggered on upstairs, finishing two more beers and needed to go to the restroom. I found the bathroom and quietly took care of business. But when I finished, I heard the faint sound of crying coming from another room. I washed my hands and went to go see where the source of the crying was. Inside the bedroom of Julie's aunt, Knives Chau was sitting alone at the footboard, staring at the ground.

_Come on Kim…go talk to her._

I groaned as I staggered over to where Knives was and sat down next to her.

"You ok Knives?"

Knives looked at me then back at the ground. "Not really…"

"What's the matter?" I asked simple questions. My brain couldn't come up with anything more sophisticated at the moment. "Is this about Neil?"

"Neil's soooo STUPDI!" I heard her yell as I leaned back a bit, thinking she was going to wave her arms around. Last thing I wanted to do was get in the blast radius of her drunk flailing arms. But they never came. "Neil is sooo stupid. And…and dumb…and stupid you know?" She stammered as I critically thought about it.

_Well he is only twenty…plus he's still in school. I guess by some people's standards he's stupid but…_

"Now don't say that. I though you two looked good together." I said to her.

"Oh come off it Kim, I was dating Neil to make Scott jealous."

"So it didn't work eh?"

"….no." Knives admitted as she hugged her legs close to her body.

"You know…maybe you should date someone that's more attractive than Scott, not someone that's less attractive." I caught myself saying, but it was too late. My mind was too slow to catch myself insulting Neil.

"RRGGH! I hate them! I hate boys!" Knives yelled. "They're all exactly the same! Same eyes, same hair…"

My eyes were getting heavy, my breathing a lot slowly, and my mind was starting to shut down. I could feel myself almost ready to pass out. But I had to be there for Knives. If no one is, then I will. I scooted closer to Knives and wrapped an arm around her and hugged her, trying my best to comfort her even though I'm completely smashed.

"I know…they suck." I said as I looked over at her. Knives looked over at me, giving me a cute smile.

"Kim. I…" She started, they eyes slowly closing as she got closer to me.

"I've kissed the lips that kissed you…" She said as she leaned in. My eyes also began to close as I felt my body fall forward towards Knives…

…and…

"That's all I remember." I told Hollie as we both were behind the counter of No-Account Video.

"You're kidding me. You kissed her?" Hollie said in disbelief as I told her what happened at the beach two nights ago. "What about Jason?"

"What? No! We didn't kiss. I woke up alone in Julie's aunt's room. I guess I must have passed out at that point and Knives left or something. I would never kiss a girl." I said to her. "Got a nasty hangover yesterday, but that's it."

"Oh…that's a sigh of relief on my end then." Hollie said as I stared at her. "For a minute I thought you were coming out to me. I mean, I love you Kim, but I'm straight. Not bi, straight."

"What the, I'm not gay! Or bi. I'm completely straight!" I told her.

"Uh-huh, of course you are…"

"Hollie!"

"Oh by the way…" Hollie started, "if you want to move in with me and Joseph, our roommate Carla just moved out." I stared at her, stunned. "The room is all yours if you want it."

"Are you serious? Thank you Hollie! I'll move in right away!"

_Finally! Away from those damn she beasts!_

* * *

_Moving day: Kim Pine_

"Okay, as you know, I'm moving in with Hollie and Joseph today. If you're here, you volunteered to help out, so let's do it!" I told Scott and Stephen as we saw Jason's car drive up to the curb of Hollie and Joseph's place. In the back was all my belongings from the hell that was my old apartment.

"Who the hell is that guy?" Scott asked me, pointing at Jason.

"It's Jason. You've met him, like…four times easily." I said to him, remembering all the times that they met.

_At Lee's palace…backstage when we were about to go on …when he dropped me off at the beach…when he picked me up FROM the beach…Jesus._

"Hey, man. Jason Kim. I, uh…I own the car." Jason said, introducing himself to Scott yet again.

"Jason KIM?"

"ha ha you said that last time too. Can we move on?" I said, slapping my forehead with my hand in the sheer stupidity of Scott.

"I can't believe you're moving Kim." Scott said to me as he carried two large boxes into the house.

"Why can't you believe I'm moving? It's completely ordinary/ and I hate my old place." I said to him

"I dunno, Kim, it's kinda blowing my mind and stuff!"

"Would you carry the stupid boxes inside, please?" I waged my fist at him. "Right-hand door on the landing!" I sighed as I felt Jason hug me from behind. I wrapped my arms around him from behind and closed my eyes. The sudden rage I had for Scott slowly faded away.

"You need to calm down. It's your moving day."

"Heh, you make it sound like it's my wedding day." I said to him.

"In a sense. You're starting a new life here. The last thing you want to do is bring stress and negativity to your new home. I heard it's bad luck."

"Fine…" I said, turning around and kissing him on the lips. "…I'll calm down."

"Are…are you recording music? You have a home studio? Oh my God!" I heard Stephen yell from the second floor. Jason and I looked up at the second floor then at each other.

"Wonder what that's all about…" I asked.

* * *

"Kim? Kim you in there?" Hollie's voice called from behind my door. I walked over and opened the door to see her smiling face. "What's up buddy?" I met her smile with my dead eyes.

"Good Hollie. What can I help you with?" I asked her, tossing the book I was reading on my bed.

"Wanna go out?" She asked me. I raised my eyebrow at her and closed the door. I turned around and starting walking back to my bed before I heard knocking again.

"Come on Kim! That's not what I meant! I meant let's go to a bar!" She said through my door. "It's been two days and all we've done was each other's hair! Come on! Girl's night!" I sighed and walked back to my door and opened it. I was greeted yet again by Hollie's smile. And again…she was greeted with my dead eyes.

"…fine." I said. She hugged me tightly, obviously excited.

"Awesome! Now pick out something cute! We're leaving in five!"

"W-Wait!" I called but she ran to her room to change. "At least tell me we're not going to…"

_Sneaky Dee's Bar_

"…Sneaky Dee's…" I said as we sat in our own booth by the bar. This place always smelled like vomit, homeless people, and beans.

"Come on, this place is not that bad…" Hollie said as she looked at the menu. "I'll even cover the first round." She said, placing an order of beer for me and her.

_It would be fine…but did we have to invite her?_

I looked over to see Julie leaving us to go to the bathroom really quick. Our order came and we both picked up our glasses and clanked them together.

"To the future! May the past never come back to haunt us again!" Hollie said as I smiled at her toast.

"Cheers." I said as I took a swig out of my glass. I exhaled loudly as I looked over at the entrance. Something caught my eye. Something that I never thought I would see again.

"So what have you and Jason been doing lately?" I heard Hollie ask me but I didn't respond. I was too busy looking at the pair of people that were walking towards us. "Kim? Hello? Earth to Kim…" Hollie badgered me.

_It can't be…I've seen her on TV but, it's actually her. With him…it can't…_

I found myself staring at the girl that was walking with Scott Pilgrim as they came towards us. When they stopped at their booth, the girl with short blonde hair looked at me as I stared back at her. Voices were echoing in my head. Feelings of the past were coming back. The angry, the sorrow, the drama…it was all coming back…

"_I accept you guys as a couple. You guys are my best friends so it's only right that I support your unconditional love for each other."_

"_Mmm…I think of going to college to become an actor. Like a real actor. Ones you see on the big screen, you know?"_

"_I think you can do it. Afterall, you've been the main character for all the school plays. Even when the role was a male role, you were still able to get it."_

"_Haha. Thanks Kim. But outside from here it'll get a lot harder. I guess I'm kinda worried about my future. It's dumb I know…" _

"_You are the most talented girl I've ever met. If those people out there deny you, then they're really missing out." _

"_Thanks Kim. I really needed that." _

"_I swear to you I'm not lying to you Kim! Please listen to me! You need to find Scott. You need to talk to him about this. Maybe there is a way you can…"_

"_Shut up! You're trying to break me and Scott up!"_

"_I would never do that!"_

"_You're trying to break me and Scott up because you're in love with him! You're in love with Scott frickin' Pilgrim! Admit it!"_

"_There's nothing to admit! I never wanted to break you and Scott up! Kim please-"_

"_Shut up you….you….WHORE!"_

"Kim Pine?" She said to me as I continued to stare at her.

"Lisa Miller?" I said slowly.

I got out of the booth, keeping eye contact with her. Those feelings of angry, furry, regret, sorrow…they suddenly…

…disappeared.

"Lisa!" I screamed and hugged her.

"Kim! Oh my God! It's been so long!" Lisa screamed back as we both hugged each other as tightly as we can. My best friend from high school.

_Lisa Miller_

* * *

"Yeah, Joseph's totally recording the Sex Bob-omb album!" I said, finishing our long catch up conversation with Lisa, trying to filler her in on all the details about life after high school. "Jason's going to help me bring the drums over."

"That's awesome!" Lisa said, looking over at me.

"Who the hell is Jason?" Scott asked.

"The guy with the car?" Hollie informed him but Scott just looked more confused.

"I know a guy with a car?"

"I can't even believe you're here! This is so amazing! How long are you staying in tow?" I asked her, still very excited about seeing Lisa again after all these years.

"I'm not totally sure. At least until the end of the summer, I think."

"We have to hang out all the time! Is it okay if we hang out all the time?"

"Yeah!" Lisa said, excitedly.

"Oh man, we should go to the zoo! It's a Scarborough, right?" Lisa said to me as I got excited myself.

"Yeah, totally! I've never been there!"

"Let's go this week, then!"

…

"Scott?" Ramona's voice called as Scott stopped his ridiculously loud nacho chewing to notice that Ramona was right next to him. She was sporting her new hair color which she hasn't changed in awhile. I guess she really likes the hair color. "Hey! I just got your message."

"Oh right! Uh, hi!" Scott replied as Lisa checked out Ramona, almost undressing her with her eyes.

"Hey! You must be Ramona, right? I'm Lisa!" She introduced herself.

"They Lisa, are you a friend of Julie's?"

"Who's Julie?"

"Me." Julie said, looking away from Lisa, now ticked off.

"Oh! …no."

"Lisa went to high school with us." I said to Ramona, feeling that the introduction that Lisa gave herself wasn't enough.

"With you and Scott?" Ramona asked.

"Yeah. She's visiting." Scott said in defense, even though I wasn't sure why he was being defensive.

"She was also the town slut!" I joked as I saw Ramona' attention focus on Lisa rather intently.

"Really."

"I just played one on TV." Lisa said, rubbing her head in embarrassment.

"Oh, you're an actor?" Ramona asked, placing a nacho chip In her mouth.

"Yeah, but just on some crappy Canadian TV show nobody watched." Lisa said, rubbing her head again.

"Pssh, modesty. She's moving to the states, and she's gonna be a star!" I said, trying to get her to feel good about her future again.

"Whatever!"

"Wow, the states? I've heard if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere." Ramona added.

* * *

"So Miss Kimberly Pine, where have you been all my life?" Lisa asked as she sat in my room the next day. "Last I heard you were in Nipissing University."

"Yeah I graduated obviously. Summa cum-laude…the usual…" I gloated as Lisa grab held of my pillow and threw it at my face.

"Shut up! I knew that awkward girl held the brain of a genius!" Lisa said to me as I got hit with the pillow.

"Haha, what do you want from me? High School taught me well. And there weren't that many distracting elements in college." I said as Lisa sat back down.

"You mean boys didn't try to hit on you?"

"Oh they tried, but I wasn't into them. All of them were jerks or nerds. Mostly nerds." I said to her, laughing at the past. "In college all I had to worry about was midterms and finals. Back in high school, I had to worry about midterms, finals, band practice…" Lisa started to laugh when I mentioned band practice. "…Scott, and you trying to steal him." I said without thinking. Realizing what I said, I looked back at Lisa and she was staring right back at me. But she wasn't made. She just laughed even harder.

"I remember those days. Good times…"

"Yeah…good times." I said, laughing nervously.

_Maybe she didn't hear what I said._

"That thing about Scott…" Lisa started.

"Uh huh…"

"I was trying to steal him from you…"

Suddenly, the hatred all came back…

* * *

To Be Continued…

To the people that hit my story 2606 times, the 26 reviews that i've gotten, the 12 people who added my story to their favorite list, the 15 people who added his story to their story alerts, and the one person that added the story to the C2 (whatever that is...) I humbly thank you. ~Voice4TheMute


	8. Chapter 4b

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing my story! Here's the second part of a possible four part chapter. Please read and review as always. Check out my profile page as well. A lot of interesting things on it like possible future stories, polls, etc.

If you're all wondering why my stories are taking longer to put up, I'm a full time super senior in college working to become an engineer…so yeah…only writing time is on the weekends. ~V4tM

Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.

* * *

I stared at my best friend in high school, and probably my only close friend ever, in disbelief. I just could not fathom what she just told me. Everything that I thought back then, every doubt in my mind, every worst case scenario I made in my head back I high school were confirmed in three seconds.

_I don't believe it…Lisa Miller WAS trying to Scott from me in high school…_

Lisa tilted her head as I could only imagine what was going through her head as I stared blankly at her. She finally raised her hand in front of my face and started waving it.

"Hello? Kim you still with me?" She asked as I broke out of my trance and refocused on her. I wasn't sure what I should be feeling. Angry? Betrayed? Lied to? All the emotions I had in the past started rushing into me again. I always suspected…but I would have never believed it to be true unless she told me herself. "Kim? Kim! That was a long time ago! Those feelings are gone now."

"Oh…yeah. I guess so huh." I gave an answer. It didn't make sense but it was better than sitting in silence.

"Besides, I would never have pulled you two apart. Those feelings were back when you were new to our little group." Lisa said to me as she propped her head up on her hands and looked out the window. "There was just something about you that I could never have done anything bad to you."

"So what you're saying is that you hated me." I said to her, trying to sum up what she's saying in one easy sentence.

"It was all in the past through. I mean, look at us and how far we've come. We both manage to survive high school, manage to survive college, and we ending up where we wanted." Lisa said, but I didn't feel any better. My anger for Lisa wanting Scott and I apart was replaced by un-fulfillment.

"I wouldn't say that…" I told her as Lisa looked up at me, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't get what I wanted in the future."

"Sure you did Kim. I mean, look at you!" She said to me, making some kind of gesture, but I looked away from her.

"YOU wanted to become an actress. YOU went to college to become that. And in the end, you became what YOU wanted." I said to her. She remained quiet as I continued to rant. "Remember prom? Remember how you asked me what I saw in the future and what I wanted? Remember what I told you?"

"But Kim! Scott is in your future! He's still here and you guys still hang out!" She tried to reason with me but I knew that she would try to use that loop hole on me.

"That's not what I meant by it!" I yelled really loudly. We were the only one's home at the moment, so no one would be around for the next thing I was about to admit. "I really thought me and Scott would… I don't know, be together?" I said, not intending it to be a question, but my voice trailed it off to be one. "I never knew what my future held. I didn't plan that far ahead of my life like you did. But there was one thing that I knew I wanted. I wanted Scott to be in it." I brought my knees up and assumed my usual ball position in bed. "I guess technically he is in my future now but…not like this. After we broke up and graduated, I though going to college will help me move on with life. Obviously it didn't work."

"What do you mean?" Lisa asked.

"I didn't randomly move here in Toronto. I knew Scott was living here…" I buried my head in my knees.

"You mean after all this time, you still…" Lisa trailed as I nodded.

I sensed Lisa getting up. She moved over to my bed and sat next to me. "Look Kim. You make your own future. So one plan didn't work out. So what? If, by some act of God, I couldn't become an actress, I would have gone the science route…or something." She said, realizing that what she said didn't make sense and started to laugh about her own stupidity. "The point is, just because one thing didn't work out doesn't mean that your future is over. You can still plan and make a new future for yourself. And if you still want Scott in it, well, you can still have it. Of course it'll be a little different since he's seeing Ramona."

I grumbled as she mentioned her name.

"You know he's serious about her right Kim?" I nodded my head, still buried in my knees. Again, there was silence. Lisa was trying to figure out something to help me feel better. Suddenly, her body jolted up, as if struck by inspiration. "Ahh! I knew what will cheer you up!" She said as I turned my head to her, curious what could make me feel better about my future, and better about the fact that at one point Lisa wanted to take Scott away from me.

"What?"

"Why would anyone do this to themselves?" She yelled at me, waving her left hand in the air. It wasn't an insult to me, but a memory trigger. I remembered that phrase. In that tone. My mind began to wander…

_Voice4TheMute Presents…_

* * *

_St. Joel's Catholic High School…_

"Hey Scott?" I asked Scott, who was sitting to the right me in art class.

"Yeah?"

"Can you pass the glue?" I asked, pointing over to his right hand, which was firmly holding the glue bottle. Scott hesitated but then started to shake his head.

"S-Sorry Kim. I kinda need that right now." He told me. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What the hell. Then use it, and then give it to me." I told him. Lisa was sitting on Scott's right side.

"Yeah dude. Use it and pass it on. I have to use it as well." Lisa said to him. We both stared intently at Scott as he started to shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"Yeah…the deal is…well, it's stuck."

"Stuck?" I asked him, raising my eyebrow at him.

"Yeah…" He said as he lifted is right hand. The bottle of glue remained in his hand but then I realized what he meant by 'stuck'.

"…oh my God you glued your hand to the bottle didn't you?" I said in disbelief as Lisa started laughing at him.

"Are you serious Scott Pilgrim? How did you not notice that the bottle of glue still had glue on it?" Lisa asked him and he looked back and forth between us.

"I don't know! Don't ask me these things! They just happen alright?" Scott defended himself as we both found the situation funny.

"Oh Scott…come here let me help you." Lisa said as she reached for the bottle and grabbed it, trying to pry his fingers free from the adhesive trap. "You just gotta…huh." Lisa started but then suddenly bewildered as she started to move her hand back, bringing the bottle with her. "What the…Scott? What the hell? Why didn't you tell me the bottle was still wet?" Lisa yelled at him as Scott shrugged.

"Because I did this…maybe two minutes ago?"

"What the…I'm stuck too! Dammit Scott!" Lisa continued to yell as I watched both of my friends stuck to each other.

"Man, that sucks you two. I hope you enjoy each other's company for the rest of your lives." I joked. I continued to watch Lisa and Scott struggle to free each other and seeing the frustration they were both experiencing. I felt sorry for my idiotic boyfriend so I reached over and held his left hand and squeezed it for comfort. But what I felt wasn't comfort. What I felt was something wet and pasty…like…

"What the…! SCOTT! Why is there glue in your left hand?" I yelled at my boyfriend as both Scott and Lisa looked at me.

"Well, since I couldn't free myself from the glue bottle I figured I just put the glue in my other hand. You know, so I can use it." I felt my brain cells explode at the levels of stupidity that I just been exposed to.

"What the…you…your left hand and…what?" I stammered, trying to piece together what I just heard. But the facts were clear. Now me, Scott, and Lisa were glued together with no way of separating.

"Well…at least we'll be friends forever! So I'm thinking Scrabble night. What do you guys think?" Lisa asked us as Scott got excited by Lisa's game night proposal.

"Oh cool! Scrabble! But I suck at Scrabble. How about Mouse Trap night?"

"Oh my God, I love Mouse Trap! Do you still have the game?"

"Uh…maybe. I think it's in my room somewhere. Hey Kim, do you have Mouse Trap?"

"Why would anyone do this to themselves?" I yelled at Scott, raising my right hand which was now attached to his left hand.

_A story based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" series…_

* * *

I couldn't help but smile at that memory of high school. It was simple back then. No real problems. The problems all started when Scott left. That's when things started going downhill. Downhill at least for me. Nevertheless the memory did make me smile. I turned to Lisa, nodding my head in thanks. "Seriously though, why would anyone do that to themselves? It wasn't even a smart thing to do. We are talking about Scott, but still…"

Lisa laughed at the memory as well, leaning back on her arms and looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah. I don't know who should feel worse though. Me? Or you because you got stuck as well after making fun of us. Maybe it's you. Afterall, you did agree to be his boyfriend."

I shook my head. "Yeah I know…" I said, looking over at her then at my knees again. "…so you really did like Scott back then."

Lisa nodded. "I did. I mean…he was the first real friend I had at St. Joel's, you know? Before we made the band, I would always hang out with him since we were in the same boat. Two lost souls who by chance met each other outside the principal's office. We were both transfer students so it was a nice thing to base our friendship on. No need to try to fit in a group or force to find something in common with someone else, it was already established. But I guess in some points we didn't see eye to eye."

"What do you mean?" I asked, a bit curious of the background of Scott and Lisa.

"Well for one he's very self indulgent in his video games…" She started off and immediately I agreed.

"No kidding. It took me forever to break him from his video games to take me out. It was a hassle."

"He's also very oblivious to the people around him. Especially when he eats…" Again, I agreed with her.

"I think I had a one sided conversation with him once when he was eating macaroni and cheese. He just kinda zones out and ignores everything that's happening around him." Lisa didn't say anything. I looked over at her and noticed she was smiling wide at me. "…what?"

"We never had this."

"Had what?" I asked.

"Girl talk."

"Sure we have Lisa."

"I mean about Scott." She added. I thought back a bit. I had a policy that I would never talk in detail about the people I'm dating. Of course this little rule came to being when I started dating Scott, but that was beside the fact. The fact was I never had anyone listen to me talk about Scott. There was Ramona but she's currently dating him so it would just cause an awkward scene. "I mean, now that you two aren't going out anymore, maybe we can have that 'girl talk' that's we've neglected to have in the past."

I looked over at her and nodded my head. "I guess we should…" Lisa smiled in glee as she got close to me, making sure she didn't miss any details.

"Yay! So what was dating Scott like? Did it make you feel dumber by the second?"

"...a little bit."

_Through My Eyes: 004b_

* * *

_No-Account Video_

"Are you serious Kim? I mean…it's been over a week since you last saw him." Hollie said to me as we both walked into the store. I made my way to the usual spot behind the counter and placed my stuff down.

"It's no big deal. So Jason and I haven't seen each other in a week. I can always call him." I said to her as she went to the back to see what videos need to be stocked today. "I'm not going to be one of those girls that wants their boyfriends to talk or text them every day. I'm not possessive." I said to her as she poked her head out from the back room to look at me.

"What about your bread?"

"That's different. That's frickin' food! No one gets between me and my food." I said to her as she ducked back into the room. She did have a valid concern though. Jason and I haven't talked or seen each other in the past week.

_He keeps telling me that he's busy with work. I really shouldn't disturb him…_

I looked over at our phone and then at my cell phone which contained his number.

…_well it would be nice to hear is voice._

I reached into my pocket and took out my phone, picking up the receiver of the store phone as well. By using the store phone, people won't call here and make me do work. Seems like a win-win situation for me. I looked up Jason's number and dialed it on the store phone. I placed the receiver against my ear and listen to the ringing on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Jason? It's Kim! I'm calling from No-Account."

"Hey Kim! No-Account? I thought you couldn't use their phone. I thought it was for business only." I heard Jason said to me over the phone as I shook my head.

"Pff…this is business. How are you? I haven't been able to see you all week." I said, leaning against the counter.

"Sorry Kim. Things are a bit busy around here as of late. We're working on a new project so it has been eating up all my free time. I tried going to your place whenever I have a break but I guess you're in band practice or something. I keep meeting up with Hollie and she keeps telling me I just missed you."

I sighed as I examined what I've been doing this past week. Majority of it was hanging out with Lisa, but at least Hollie would have called me if Jason was over at our place. I found this to be odd but decided to dismiss it. "Yeah, I guess it's busy for me as well. With my friend Lisa here only for the rest of the summer I guess I have been spending a lot of time with her instead of you."

"Haha, I really hope you two aren't making out whenever you guys 'hang out'. Word on the street says you like to do that to your 'close' girl friends." He said to me. I smiled a bit at his joke.

"Yeah? And what if we are? Wait, where did you hear that I make out with girls?" I asked him.

"Hollie."

"She said that to your face?" I said to him, leaning back in my chair. "Hilarious." I said sarcastically as I heard the door open. I looked over to see who came in. In my horror, it was Scott Pilgrim. I felt my happy mood go sour as I stared at him with dead eyes.

"Um…hey, Kim?" Scott said as I covered the receiver end of the phone with my hand.

"What? What do you want?"

Scott took the straw of his iced latte, probably given to him by his sister Stacy for free, and stirred his drink a few times. I patiently waited for Scott's answer, use to his usual stall tactics. But the thing is when he does this, it's pretty serious.

"Uh…I was thinking I'd ask, about getting a job here. Then I realized how stupid that would be." Scott said as he took his straw and starting chewing on it. I raised an eyebrow at him.

_How very interesting. The lazy and unreliable Scott Pilgrim actually went out of his way to come here, approach me, and ask me if there's any job opening. He's actually looking for a job? Why? Maybe he finally grew a pair and is becoming responsible? Hmm…interesting nevertheless. If he's serious about this then who am I to deny him the gates to maturity?_

"Why's that? You're unprepared? You don't have a resume? You owe us a ton of late fees? Bravo, Scott. Maturity!" I said to him in a sarcastic tone, releasing my hand from the receiver to talk to Jason. "I'll call you later, Jason." I said to him as I heard him say bye before hanging up.

"Jason? You're on the phone with that guy? Doesn't he have a car?" He said to me, obviously surprised. I was confused by his statement, but decided to ignore it.

"It's none of your business, Scott. Anyway, it just so happens that I have some information for you." I said to him, getting up from my seat. I motioned him to follow me as we both started to walk out of No-Account Videos. "The place where Stephen Stills works is hiring, and you may have an in. C'mon, I'll walk you over. This place is dead anyway." I said to him. I remember Stephen telling me there was an opening at the Happy Avocado, a vegetarian restaurant where he works as a prep chief. He didn't specify what the job was, but if Scott was serious about this, then this is the best lead he can get.

"Oh, cool!" Scott said as we walked down the street. "So you think I could get a job at the…uh…bank?"

"He works in a restaurant, Scott, but nice try."

* * *

_At the Happy Avocado…_

"Yeah, we actually do have a dishwashing position open. You do that, I could teach you prep on the side. You could work your way up." Stephen Stills informed us as he talked out of the ordering window.

"So it's more or less like a video game, you're saying? Kind of a 'job system'?"

Both Stephen and I stared at him.

"Well, see you guys later." Stephen said as he turned around and walked away from us. I twitched at Scott's stupidity. He raised my right hand up and gave him a solid backhand to his face, making a loud 'WHAP' sound.

"Come ON Scott! You can do this, you know. You're not as clueless an idiot as you seem!" I said to him, trying to get his confidence up. The thing about Scott Pilgrim is once he's motivated to go, he becomes an unstoppable force.

"I'm…I'm not?"

"Scott!" Stephen yelled as he came back to the order window to talk to us again. "Are you going to work? Do you have what it takes to be a serious dishwasher? Maybe the best dishwasher there ever was?"

Scott stood there for a minute, scratching his head in contemplation.

_Come on Scott…you can do this!_

"I can do it! I can do anything! Just give me a chance!" He said with confidence. Scott's sudden display of courage sent shivers down my spine.

_Never have I seen Scott so motivated in my life. Was this because of me? Is it because of that 'gentle' push I gave him that made him finally decide that he was going to get his damn act together? Whatever it was, this is your first step to adulthood Scott…from here on out…it's going to suck._

Stephen looked over where two girls stood, one presumably his boss and the other is a co-worker.

"Hey, Dominique? Can my friend have that job?" Stephen asked, not really trying to butter Scott up to make him sound appealing for the position. But then again, all I did to get my job was ask if I can have the job. Funny how life works I suppose. We all waited for her answer.

"Whatever." Dominique said.

"Tell him to come in tomorrow morning at eleven." The blender jockey, Crystal, said to us. Scott struck a pose.

"YES!"

"That seemed…easy." I said to Stephen.

"You think so?"

We walked out of the Happy Avocado, well, I walked. Scott on the other hand had a skip to his step. Or a bug in his pants…

"YES!" Scott yelled again as I calmly walked next to him.

"Scott, if your life had a face, I would punch it. I would punch your life in the face." I said to him, now annoyed by his sudden happy-go-lucky spirit. It was fine the first block…maybe the second…but after seventh blocks that's enough.

"I GOT A JOB!"

_Oh God…if I'm hearing all this I can only imagine what Ramona is going to go through when she gets home. What the hell?_

I noticed a man in a black trench coat and black pants across the street. He looked Chinese and even though he was wearing sunglasses, I could definitely tell he was staring at us. Normally this kind of thing wouldn't faze me, but what got my attention was the thing attached to his waist.

_What's with the Chinese guy giving us the old stink eye? He stalking us? And was that a sword I saw him wielding? Shouldn't he get fined? Or at least hide it better? Who was around Canada with a sword nowadays?_

"Hey…" I said to Scott, nudging him. "There's a guy over there with a samurai sword." I knew it would get Scott's attention if I mention the sword.

"Like a katana or a wakizashi or both?" He asked me. I didn't get a good look at it, but I didn't care what kind of samurai sword it was. I just wanted to get Scott's attention to it.

"Hang on, he moved." I said as a bus cut off our line of sight of the sword-wielding Chinese man. "I think he's behind this streetcar…"

And in one single slice, the streetcar that was blocking our view of the man was cut in half. As the streetcar split, the Chinese man was revealed, sword unsheathed and ready for use.

_OH SHI-_

The moderately aged man looked up at us as we slowly started to back away from him, ultimately hitting the wall of stores behind us.

"Aren't you going to fight him?" I asked Scott, scared for my life that this guy has a bone to pick with Scott. The last thing I want to do is get in the middle of an ex battle. Especially if one is carrying a sword.

"What? He's got a sword!" He said to me. The man continued to stare at us.

"Who is this guy?"

"I don't know! Maybe one of Ramona's ex-boyfriends?"

"Isn't he kind of old?" I said to him, wondering if Ramona ever told him about all of her ex's or at least her evil ex's.

"You think? Hey, if you had to guess, how old would you say Ramona is?" Scott asked me. I looked over at him in disbelief.

_We're about to get cut down and you're asking ME how old your girlfriend is? What the hell?_

"We're up against the wall, Scott! Do something!" I yelled at him as the distance between us and the crazed samurai guy was getting small.

"Do you think she's over twenty-five? I can never tell with girls." He continued his topic of Ramona's age.

"Scott, I'm sad that I'm about to die." I admitted, as I shut my eyes. "But I'm _**NOT**_ sad that you're about to die. I just want you to know that." I heard the man lift up his sword, signaling an attack. I just kept my eyes close. I didn't want to open them. I didn't want to see my death.

_Oh please someone help us…_

_Someone…_

_Please…_

…_.SCOTT!_

Suddenly, I felt myself go backwards. I opened my eyes in reaction to see myself starting to fall into darkness. I wasn't sure what was happening. I wasn't sure what to think. I just started to fall. I instinctively reached out and grab held of something. It was Scott's hand. And in the first time, in a LONG time, I've never felt so glad to hold onto Scott's hand.

"AHHH!" We both yelled as we fell into the dark abyss. I felt my arm being pulled by Scott as it felt like he was guiding me. A few seconds later, the sound of a door being open was heard and we both feel onto hard ground.

_Oh geez, what the hell just happened? What was all that about? Who was that guy? What did he want with Scott. Oh, why isn't any of this making sense? And where the hell are my flip-flops?_

There were a ton of questions that started to fill my head, but the main thing was that we got away from that crazy sword guy. We both got up and dusted off. We looked at each other, unable to explain what just happened.

"Ummm…"

"I have to go." I simply said as I started walking, barefoot on the sidewalk.

"Okay." I heard Scott say before walking in the opposite direction.

I wasn't sure where I was or what happened, but there was one familiar landmark that gave me an idea of where I was.

_Awesome. That's the Second Cup that Stacy works at. At least I'm not totally lost now. Maybe I should go in and get something. I should call Hollie as well, tell her what happened. Though I doubt she'll believe what I have to say._

I walked in and waved a Stacy. She smiled at me as she reached for the usual size up I order but I waved her down.

"I'm going to need the biggest cup you got Stacy."

"Ouch…long day?" She asked me as she poured the coffee up to the brim and closed it. I reached into my pocket and get her the money for the coffee.

"You don't even know the half of it." I said as I walked over to an empty table and starting sipping at my coffee. Each sip didn't relax me, but it was time by myself that I savored. I closed my eyes and tapped my foot, as if it was my bass petal. I started tapping a beat to myself as I continued to drink my bitter coffee and sink in my chair. It was the 'me' time that I've always wanted. But soon my 'me' time would come to a crashing halt when a familiar voice called my name.

"Hey there Kim. So you always come here for your coffee?"

It was the voice of Ramona Flowers. And after that incident with Scott, I wasn't sure if I should thank her for the crazy samurai ex she once dated or for ruining a nice calm moment that comes around once every three years.

"Well, Stacy does work here…and she gives me discounts." I said to her, not opening my eyes.

"Mind of I sit down?" She asked me. I opened one eye and looked up at her. I let out a small sigh as I signaled her to sit down. "Thanks Kim. I thought you still had work."

"Technically I do. I'm just taking an extending break. What about you? Are you on your break right now?" I asked her, now sitting back upright.

"Actually I finished my rounds just now. So I'm a free as a bird."

"Heh, lucky. I don't get out for awhile. What sucks is that Hollie gets to leave earlier than me. So sucks to be me." I said, sipping my coffee. I didn't want to ask point blank about the samurai. Afterall, he might not be one of Ramona's evil ex's. Probably just some guy out to get Scott. "So what's on the agenda for the ever-so-busy Ramona Flowers?" I asked her.

"Don't know. I think Scott and I are going back to Sneaky Dee's again. That place is slowly being out little hot spot."

"Yeah no kidding. That hole in the ground is the only decent place to get a drink around here. Mine if I hang out with you guys? Maybe bring Jason along too?"

"Jason? The guy with the car right? Are you two going out?" Ramona asked as I sipped my coffee.

"Yup."

"Wow, congratulations." Ramona said to me, lifting her cup in the air towards me. I smirked as I toasted and drank my coffee again.

"Thanks."

"So how did you two meet?" She asked me but then I lifted my hand up in front of my chest, signaling her to slow down.

"Whoa whoa whoa. You can't just ask me how Jason and I met without telling me how you met Scott." I said to her. I was actually very curious on how those two met. Figured this was going to be my only shot at learning their 'how we met' story because Scott distorts it.

"Alright. That seems fair. But where to start." Ramona pondered. "Well, we met at a party. I think it was being hosted by Julie. Now that I mention it, Julie likes to host a lot of parties doesn't she? Anyways, we met there but I didn't officially meet him until I delivered his package to his place…"

"You mean Wallace Wells' place?"

"Yeah, his place. I guess somehow he knew I was a delivery girl or something. But he actually used the package as an excuse to see me again and to ask me out. Well, I was shotgun'ed into it. He wouldn't sign for his package so I couldn't leave until I said 'yes'…"

"Hmm, that's actually pretty smart. Even for him. If that was all thought up in his head then we're not giving Scott enough credit." I said, thinking if Scott was really that sly in the 'chance' meeting.

"Anyways, we walked along the park and it started to snow so we headed back to my place…made some tea. One thing led to another and…" Ramona trailed as I raised an eyebrow at her. I leaned forward on the table, hand propping up my head as I continued to stare at Ramona.

"Wow Ramona. That's very daring. Were you the one that came onto him or the other way around?" I asked her. I saw Ramona shift her eyes and look off to the side before drinking her coffee and finally mumbling

"Me."

I gave a crocked smile at her as she looked over at me and shook her head at me. "Don't judge me!" She said to me as I kept my smile.

"Too late there Rammy. Already judging you." I joked as I drank more of my coffee. "Actually, your story is pretty similar to mine. I met Jason at the first concert that The Clash at Demonhead was holding. After Scott couldn't defeat Todd the first night, I decided to walk home but it started to rain. Apparently Jason was nearby and he called my phone, drove up to me, and offered a ride back to his place to warm up." I saw Ramona give me a sly eyebrow raise. I just shook my head and continued my story. "We went back to his place…made some hot chocolate. One thing kinda led to another…" I trailed.

It was Ramona's time to lean forward and prop her head on her hands. "Wow Kim. To think that you made a move with a guy that fast."

"Hey, I'm not normally like that ok?" I said as I looked back at my actions. "Actually, this is was the first time I've actually something like this."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…I'm never daring. I never take chances. At least with this kind of stuff. In college I was actually afraid to date other guys solely because I never took the chance. I never took the leap of faith to see what would happen. I guess that's just who I am. But something about that night…maybe it was the dress or the thoughts that were going through my head…I just decided to throw caution in the wind and just go ahead and sleep with him." I saw Ramona's eyes widen. "What?"

"Wait, you two slept together that night?"

"Uh…yeah. Didn't you do it with Scott that night?"

"…no."

There was a moment of silence.

"Wow Kim…and you said I was daring."

"Wait, why didn't you? Not saying that you're a slut or anything like that. But by the way you said to story, it sounded like you guy did it that night." I said to her as Ramona started playing with her hair nervously.

"I did think about it…but then there's just something about Scott. I don't know. I just felt that I didn't want to rush it. Like there could be something between us. Something more than just a one night stand, you know?" Ramona said to me, but then realized what the underlining message was in her statement. "Not that I'm saying that Jason and you don't have anything special! I'm sure you guys have something great if you decided to go for it. Or like you said, you never were impulsive like this…"

What Ramona said about Jason and I got to me.

_Did I really build up our relationship out of an impulsive action? Did I believe that there was something special between him and me? No…no, I know there's something between us. I know myself better than that. I would never just use someone. There's definitely something between us…_

"But man Kim…hit it the first night. That's something." Ramona joked as I shook my head at her again.

"Don't judge me." I said to her.

_Scott and Ramona's story is similar to Jason and my story. The only difference is that she decided not to do it and I did. The reason why she didn't was because she felt that there was something there. As for me…_

"Are you ok Kim?"

"Huh?" I snapped out of my thoughts to see Ramona looking rather intently at me.

"Oh…yeah. I'm ok. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"I rather not say."

* * *

After a rather long shift at No-Account Videos, I made my way back home to see Jason's car parked right outside. A smile crept on my face and I hurried to the door and unlocked it.

"Jason?" I called as I saw both Hollie and Jason at our dinner table talking over coffee. Jason looked over at me and got up to greet me with a hug.

"Hey there Kim. Long time no see." He joked as he squeeze me hard. I indulged every second of that hug. I took in every moment of it. But to my horror, it didn't feel as satisfying as I thought it would be.

"Hey there Kim." Hollie greeted as she watched us. "I called Jason over to go out with us tonight at Sneaky Dee's. Hope you don't mind." I looked over Jason's body and mouthed out 'thank you' to her. She mouthed back 'you're welcome'.

"That's ironic. Because I just got an invite to Sneaky Dee's from Ramona." I told her as I felt Jason's embrace loosen.

"So Kim. How was your day?" Jason asked as he moved behind me and hugged me from behind. I wrapped my arms around his arms and leaned by head back against him. Again…I didn't feel anything in his hug.

_What's going on? I mean…I should feel all warm and wanted, right? Was it because of that conversation between Ramona and me? There has to be some connection between us._

I looked up at Jason, who simply smiled back at me. His smile made me feel sick to my stomach. I wasn't sure what I was feeling for him. Doubts and worries started to fill my head as I began to question my relationship with him. "It was alright. Long…but alright."

"Hey Kim. Is that Lisa girl going to come with us?" Hollie asked me.

"I can give her a call. I'm sure she'll be down to go with us." I said as I reached into my pocket and took out my phone.

"So I finally get to meet Lisa huh. Should I be worried about getting jealous between you two?" Jason laughed as I laughed as well.

"I don't know. Maybe. I always thought it was a guy's fantasy to see his girlfriend making out with another girl." I said to him, mockingly. "But I never would." I said quickly to Hollie who just raised her hands in defense.

"Don't look at me. I didn't say anything."

I stared at Hollie as I dialed Lisa's number and placed the phone against my ear.

* * *

_At Sneaky Dee's (again)…_

"Are we coming here every night now?" Ramona asked as she took a sip of her beer.

"Everyone hangs out here, Ramona. It's not unusual." Julie told her. I rolled my eyes as I picked up my own glass of locally brewed beer and took a sip.

_Oh God. Why do I insist on drinking the local crap? _"It's not unusual, it's just typically crappy." I said, looking over at Julie for a reaction.

"Oh, yeah, no, it's much worse that _recording_ every night." Julie shot back at me as I cringed.

_Oh God. She has a point. Ever since Sex Bob-omb started to record, I felt my soul die every minute. And I don't mean that figuratively. I mean I could feel a little part of me inside cringe in pain. I swear if I hear Joseph make another complaint about my drumming being too soft for his old mic I'll shove my drumstick up his un-virgin ass._

"Is the food always this bad?" Jason asked us as we looked at the table. The only plates here were an order of what looked like meatloaf and an order of nachos which belonged to Scott.

"Are you kidding? It's, like, ambrosia." Lisa said to Jason, trying to make him feel better about his order.

_It wasn't… _"Have you seen the grease oozing from the bent outside?" I asked Lisa.

_Today's clown car of people in Sneaky Dee's consist of: Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, Lisa Miller, Jason Kim, me, and Julie Powers. Honestly I think the real reason why we're all here is because we had nothing better to do with our lives tonight. Stephen was working with Joseph on our album…urg…and Hollie had to duck out of our plans to come here tonight to help a friend move, or something. It all seems really sketchy of how she described it but I just came to the understanding that I should just ignore everything that doesn't make sense from her._

"Yeah, so, it's been fun, but I'm gonna go hang out with my friends in the back." Julie told us as she got up and started heading to the back of the bar. We all stared at she left our table and Jason looked at all of us in confusion.

"…so you're not her friends?"

"Tragically, no." I said, once again sipping on my beer.

"Julie is actually a huge bitch." Ramona informed him.

"Hey, you know what? I need a cigarette." I saw Scott's head jolt up when Lisa said this. It didn't come to a surprise for me, though. When we hung out she usually was smoking. She says it helps her with the stress of being an actress but I didn't buy that story.

"You smoke?" Scott said, almost choking on his nacho.

"Yeah, it's a bad habit…"

"I'll join you." Ramona said, chewing on Scott's nachos. This, however, took me by surprised. I didn't know Ramona smoked.

"I thought you quit!" Scott said, particles of nacho chips flying out of his mouth.

"It's just special occasions. Or…uh…when I'm drinking." She tried to reason with him. Scott, however, gave his counter argument with a very elegant…

"NOOO!"

We all sat there in silence and Lisa and Ramona both vanished behind the door that lead outside.

"They're gonna talk about me!" Scott said.

"Your current girl and your ex? No kidding." Jason said to him, chewing what I hoped was what he ordered.

"She's not my ex! …what do you think they're talk about though?" Scott asked everyone. I decided to give my two cents of the situation, wanting to add insult to injury.

"Well, right now Lisa is explaining how you're a giant idiot. In a minute, Ramona will see the error of her ways and dumb your ass." I said to him.

"And what, marry YOU?" Scott snapped back at me.

"Hey dude!" We all looked over to see Knives Chau standing right next to the table. Scott was the first to freak out.

"Knives Chau?"

"How's it going?"

"Wh…when did you get old enough to go in a bar?" Scott asked as Stephen came up from behind her.

"Keep it down! Where's Julie?" Stephen said. No one really answered him as Knives started talking to Scott.

"I'm still seventeen years old, but Stephen vouched for me! Can I have a nacho?" Knives asked Scott. He didn't make a motion for her to take it, so Stephen told her to go ahead.

"Yeah, have a nacho. Me and Scott can't stay long 'cause we've got work in the morning." I still couldn't believe Scott had a job.

"Where's your wrist thing? I love those things." Knives quickly added

"Oh yeah. That's what I did today!" Scott said, surprised of what he did today.

"Oh yeah, you got a job." I said, not really surprised since I was there when he got his job. "Did you tell Ramona yet?" I asked him.

"No, I totally forgot. Maybe when I tell her, she'll stop hating me." I raised my eyebrow at this.

_Ramona hates you? What did you do now Scott Pilgrim?_

"She hates you?" Knives said, surprised, but happy about it.

"Pssh, come on. Everyone hates him, Knives." I said to her

"Yeah…don't you?" Stephen asked, nudging her.

"Y-Yeah! Of course I do! Ha ha… Ha…"

_She totally loves him…_ I thought to myself as I felt a dark, ominous feeling approach us. I looked over to my left side to see Julie coming back to our table. _Oh boy…here we go._

"STEPHEN! What is _SHE_ doing here?" Julie yelled at us, but mostly at Stephen.

"I ran into her on college and told her we were all hanging out. Are your pants too tight, or what?"

_Oh, nice one Stephen._

"It's okay Julie!" Knives said to her, but it just made her madder.

"Don't _TALK_ to me! How you do you even know my _NAME?_" Julie yelled.

…_I think I need to hang out with people that can remember names. It seems like it's a frickin' epidemic of name amnesia._

* * *

I looked at my surrounds to see that I was standing on a black and white checkered title floor that stretched out to the horizon, surrounded by darkness. I had full consciousness of my dream self so I decide to walk straight, seeing where the path would lead me. There was nothing here though. It was me, the floor, and the black emptiness that surrounded. I started to run, hoping that something would stop me. But after what felt like five minutes of running, nothing caught my attention. I sat on the ground, looking up at the pitch black sky.

_What the hell is going on…?_

Suddenly, I heard crying. I stood back up, and looked around, trying to listen in on where it was coming from. After a minute of surveillance, I started to run in the direction of where it was coming from. My running finally brought me in front of four, very large, black pillars arranged in a square pattern. Each pillar was wrapped in chains and it moved down to the center of the square. I followed the chains down to see what they were connected to. In the center, knelt a little girl with red hair in a pink princess costume. Each of the chains was attached to each of her arms and legs. I slowly approached her as her head slowly looked up at me, her freckled face staring at me.

_Oh my God…she's me. That costume…that was my costume when I was little…_

_**Have you come here to mock me again, Kim?**_

"I'm not here to do that. I'm here to help you." I said to her as I knelt down to her and looked at the chains. There were no key holes or latches that would signify that these were placed on her. The shackles, themselves, were too small for her to slip on and off. And there was no way in hell that I would be able to knock down the pillar that the chains are tethered too.

_**You never wanted to help me. If you did, I would be free by now.**_

"Who did this to you? What do you mean 'free by now'? What does this all mean?" I asked her as she lowered her head again.

_**You made me a prisoner here. Made these shackles to make sure I don't go anywhere.**_

"You're not making sense. Please tell me what you mean. How did I do this? How do I free you?" I asked her.

**Now now Kimberly, if it were that easy then she wouldn't be trapped here in the first place would she?**

The voice felt darker than the little girl's. I stood back up and turned around to see my darker self standing right behind me.

"You…"

**No need to get all testy with me Kimberly. Afterall, I'm not the one that put her here. You did.**

"What do you mean God dammit! Tell me!"

**But if you don't learn, then what is the point? And here I thought you were a smart girl.**

I saw my darker self kneel down and place a hand on my younger self's face. She wiped away the tears that were on her face and brought her head up so that they were looking at each other. I wasn't sure what to think anymore. Who was this trapped girl? And why is my darker self acting so nice to her?

**It will be ok, little one. Soon she will learn.**

My dark self got up and turned to me.

**Soon you will learn Kimberly. When you do, you'll realize what all of this means. You'll learn what these pillars mean, who she is… **My dark self pointed at the young version of me. **And more importantly you'll learn who I am. But until then, you'll forever be trapped just like her.**

I wasn't sure what to think anymore. I suddenly felt like I was the bad guy.

"What a minute! You're the one that's been on my case about Scott Pilgrim and my personal life! I know who you are!" My statement made my darker self cross her arms and look at me with interest.

**Really now? Then who am I?**

"You're my inner most desire…" I said, looking at her. "You represent my feelings for Scott. My inability to move on. My mind made you because I was unable to move on when Scott dumped me. You're a constant reminder that I cannot truly move on with my life without getting closure from him. But it's over now. I don't care about Scott anymore. I don't want to be with him." My dark self smiled at me as she started to clap.

**Bravo Kimberly…**

I found myself smiling as well, finally besting my dark self.

…**that is completely wrong.**

"What?"

**But that was impressive nevertheless. No, I don't represent Scott Pilgrim…**

"When who are you?"

_**Please Kim…**_ The voice called from my younger self as she looked up to see me. _**Please save me…**_

* * *

To Be Continued…

Don't forget to review. Until next time...!


	9. Chapter 4c

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: As always, thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing my story! Noticed the lack of new Scott Pilgrim stories so it gave me more motivation to post this one up (i'm assuming that's what you're all waiting for...an update to this story). A special shoutout to **Grim Grey** for advertising my story on deviantart. Story traffic did increase a bit over the two days that the message was posted so it helped in popularity, so thank you so much! Here is the third and last part of our chapter! Yeah I lied about it being four parts...my bad. So sit back, relax, and get a good drink because it's a long one! Enjoy the story!

Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.

* * *

"Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow. 'night." Scott talked into my cordless phone and lowered it, a look of disappointment covered his face. We were in my room relaxing after a long day of recording. I was catching up on some light reading while Scott was trying to convince Ramona to come with us tonight to Sneaky Dee's for the fourth time this month. It was really none of my concern whether or not Ramona came or not, what was my concern was why Ramona was mad at Scott. He mentioned it the other night at Sneaky Dee's and I haven't been able to contact Ramona about its so I was in the dark just as he is. "I guess Ramona's staying home. I told her about the girl who attacked me, but she didn't seem worried."

I looked over at Scott, not really interested in what he was saying. "What about the guy with the samurai sword the other day? Did you tell her about that?"

"What? No! Crap!"

"Did you tell her you got a job?"

"Oh God! Should I call her back?"

_You're an idiot sometimes Scott…_ I closed my book and sat up so I was facing him. "I wouldn't do it. It'll just make you look like an idiot. It's one of the things that I didn't like when we were going out." I mindlessly said to him. He just stared at me blankly.

"We went out?" I punched him in the arm.

"Yes we went out!" I yelled at him as I continued to punch him. He started to brace the arm I was punching and pacify me with his other arm.

"Ok! Ok! We did! I…was just kidding?" He said to me as I stopped. I sighed as I picked up my book again and opened it up to the page I was reading before I started to care what Scott was saying. There was another moment of silence as I read, but every now and then I looked up to see what Scott was doing. It wasn't much. He was just sitting there, looking at the ground in deep thought, or zoning out. Suddenly his head jerked up and looked at me.

"Kim, why did we start going out?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"I mean…why did you want to go out with me?" I thought about it for a minute.

_Why did I decide to date Scott? Probably because of the whole 'alone' thing with Simon. Stupid Simon Lee. Just leaving school like that and moving somewhere else. At least he was a man and told me that he was moving…still…what I did to that guy…something I just don't want to think about. But why Scott Pilgrim? _"I guess it was because we gotten close or something in school. You were the new kid and I was the girl who showed you around." I said, saying the first thing that came to my mind. "Besides back then you weren't such a bad guy. I mean you punched a nerdy Chinese kid in the face, but before that you were a hard worker. Not the brightest, but a hard worker. I guess I liked that determination…I don't know." I rambled as I stared into his eyes.

"Really? Because I had, um, determination?" Scott repeated.

"I guess nothing stopped you from reaching you goals." I said to him as Scott pondered a bit.

"Oh. Ok. I thought I you started to like me when I had to defeat that Simon guy and release you from your chains. Let me tell you, his minions did not want me going up to see you. But I had to get you back. There was no way he was getting away with beating up all the guys at our school."

"Wait, what? Chains? Minions? A fight at school? What are you babbling about this time Scott Pilgrim?" I said, confused.

"Uh…nevermind." He said quickly as I looked at him questioningly. But I didn't let go of the topic. Not without asking the same question.

"Ok. So why did you want to go out with me then Scott?" I asked him. Scott scratched his head.

"Um…I don't know really. I can't remember."

"Boy Scott, you really know how to make a girl feel wanted." I said to him, feeling depressed by his answer. The least he could have done was said I was cute. Wasn't that the default answer?

"Let's see. You were a girl…and you knew how to play the drums really well. I liked that. Um, you have red hair and freckles…" He said, trying to list all of my physical characteristics but nothing into the deep, emotional stuff. I started getting sick of what he was saying after the third time he mentioned my hair.

"Ok Scott, that's it. Shut up. I don't want to hear anymore and I really don't care." I said to him, turning back to my book for some soul comfort.

"…you were also very pretty." I heard him say which made me stop what I was doing and look up at him. I was a little surprised by what he said. Every once in awhile, back in high school, he would say I was pretty. I guess it was just one of those trigger words that's been in the back of my mind. I didn't want to sound like I was flattered by his comment, even though I was.

"You thought I was pretty?" I asked him as he scratched his head.

"Yeah, I guess. Girl in a school uniform with long red hair and freckles? What's not to like?" I stared at him with dead eyes, even though inside my soul got the pick-me-up it needed. There was another unanswered question that was laying dormant in the back of my mind. If there was any time to say it, now would was the most ideal.

"But what about Lisa?"

"Who?"

"Lisa Miller?"

"You mean our Lisa?"

"Yes our Lisa! God, are you really that dense or…!" I yelled at him, ready to punch his arm some more. Scott recoiled and guarded himself from my attack.

"Ok! Just making sure it was our Lisa!" Scott said, lowering his arms as I lowered mine. "I dunno. She was cool. I just didn't feel that way for her."

"But you knew her the longest. It was her idea to make the band right? And she's the one that befriended you. You're telling me that throughout that time you didn't have any romantic inclination towards her?"

"Inclination?" Scott said, a bit confused on the vocabulary I just used. I sighed.

"…'liking'."

"Oh. No, I guess not. Why do you ask?" He asked me, but I knew I couldn't tell him about Lisa's feelings in the past. Telling him now would create an awkward air between him, Lisa, and me.

"Just wondering…" I said to him as I looked at the time. I placed my book down and started to push Scott off my bed. "…now get out. I'm going to change for tonight. We're still going to Sneaky Dee's, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good, now get out. And call Lisa while you're at it. I'm sure she'll come. Tell her I sent you." I shoved Scott off my bed and out the door, locking it behind him. I turned around and looked at my body mirror for awhile. My red hair was in a long ponytail tied by a scrunchie. I walked towards my mirror, carefully looking back at the girl I see. I reached up and pulled the scrunchie out, allowing my red hair to fall freely. It was a little bit longer than I usual grow it out for the summer. My hair now barely passes my shoulders. I just stared at my reflection, crossing my arms over my chest and pondered about what Scott said to me.

_He really liked it when my hair was longer? ...that's interesting to note I guess._

_Voice4TheMute presents…_

* * *

"Hey Kim!" Lisa said to me as I stood outside her house. Well, I should say her sister's house. Since Lisa was visiting over the summer, she stayed here. She says that her sister doesn't care as long as she doesn't wake her up in the middle of the night. "Come on in. Make yourself at home. Don't take anything." She warned me as I walked in, taking off my sweater.

"I swear to you I won't." I said in a sarcastic, but joking tone. Lisa turned her head and just shook it at me as we walked into the living room.

"It's so awesome you wanted to hang here. So what can I get you? Soda? Or pop I guess. I don't know. People have weird ways of calling soda…well, soda." She said as I sat on her couch, relaxing in the softness of it.

"Whatever. I'm good with anything." I said to her as I heard her footsteps get closer to me. She placed down a can of soda in front of me and I sat up, opening the can.

"To an awesome summer!" She said, toasting me. I tapped my can against hers.

"To an awesome summer." I repeated and took a sip. It was nice that for once it wasn't beer. It was a nice summer drink, hanging out with my best summer friend. Things were simple once again and I liked it a lot.

"Kim, you're hair is getting really long. Even back in high school I've never seen it this long." She said to me as I looked upward, as if I could see the top of my head.

"Oh? Yeah. I guess it is getting long. In the summertime I just allow it to grow. Some people like to cut their hair short because of the hot weather but I like to grow it out." I said to her, taking another sip of the cold soda.

"Well I must say that it make you look very hot, Kim." Lisa teased as I looked over at her with sly eyes.

"Why thank you Lisa. I never knew you were into girls, but I'm glad I have your 'Lisa's seal of approval'." I laughed as she pushed me.

"Oh you know what I meant. I haven't seen you in a long time so seeing you with long hair again kinda makes me reminisce, you know?"

"I think I understand."

"Afterall, the last time you had long hair was back in high school. Good times…" Lisa sighed as I started to think back to the times of essays, midterms, and drama. I reached up and felt my long red ponytail again, and sighed.

"Kinda makes you wanna go back and do it all again. And I don't mean the same old mistakes I mean just relive it again. See where it took you." I said to her as she looked at me strangely.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…well, the past is what makes you who you are today. Going back and changing the past will probably alter who you are now. I guess what I'm trying to say is it'll be nice to look back at those times and see what you did. See what you did well, see what you did wrong, learn from those experiences, and see where it took you life."

"That's pretty deep there Kim. What's gotten over you…?" Lisa said to me as I shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Can't a girl have her philosophical moments?" We both sat there for a minutes before Lisa started laughing. Mainly laughing at me.

"Kimberly Pine, you're the most adorable girl ever!"

"Pff…as if I stopped being adorable." I said to her, trying to act cute, but found myself talking in a very serious, monotone voice. This make Lisa laugh even harder.

"Oh Kim. Remember how you were in high school? You were just a shy little red head. Never so moody or dark…"

"I'm not moody or dark!"

"…at least until Scott showed up. I guess he helped you get out of your shell." I pondered what she said for a minute. Then thing she was spouting off about wasn't too far from the truth. Back then, all I really cared about was school.

"I guess you're right. When Scott showed up, I suddenly had friends. Close friends." I said, shoving Lisa with my body. "I guess I do owe that dork a thank you for impacting my life. Even though he is a dumbass. With all the stupid stuff he's done in the past, I'm still grateful of what he's done for me." I saw Lisa smile at me.

"So you're still in love with him then…?"

"What? No! I'm just saying…I'm grateful."

"Totally love him."

"Shut up Lisa. What about you in the past? Remember how you were back then?" I said to her. She knew exactly what I meant by that. Lisa rubbed her head, laughing at herself.

"Oh man. I REALLY don't want to remember that."

"I mean, if you replace the clothes you're wearing with the school uniform, I say nothing has really changed. You know, except for all the guys that you kept in your back pocket." I said to her as she started to get embarrassed.

"I didn't keep guys in my back pocket!" She yelled at me, but I stared at her with serious eyes. "I swear I didn't! They all came to me! I blame drama club and the school performance." Lisa justified as I continued to stare at her. "Oh whatever! You know I only dating one guy in high school."

"That you told me."

"Pff, whatever! Yes, I was a bit of a flirt back in high school. And yes…MAYBE I did string two guys along only to use them to get me free food at the cafeteria. But I let them down easy in the end." She said to me as I shook my head.

"You told them that their services were no longer needed as walked away from both of them."

"…it could have been worse." She simply said.

"…You were a bit of a bitch back then, huh." I said to her as she nodded.

"Yeah a little bit. But I stopped all that in college. I realize that persona wasn't going to get me far in my acting career. So here I am now, an actress that plays the town slut in some crappy Canadian show." She sighed as I patted her on the back.

"At least you still have a dream right? Not too sure what I want from life now. I'm kinda in a drift. Just seeing where it takes me. No real goal in mind…" I said to her truthfully, feeling a bit uncertain about my own future. I felt Lisa's arm wrap around me and squeeze me tight.

"Come on Kimmy, you said it yourself. The past is what makes you who you are today. I bet future Kim is looking back at you now and smiling at whatever you decide to do with your life today. I'm not saying leave it all for future Kim to worry about. I'm saying that whatever you decide to do, you'll end up liking it." I smiled at what Lisa said and hugged her back.

"Thanks Lisa. I guess I needed to hear that."

_A story based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" series…_

* * *

"Scott's not here?" Ramona asked me as I saw her peek her head through my door. I looked up from the book I was reading and shook my head.

"Sorry Ramona. I thought he was with you." I said to him, honestly. I haven't seen him all day. I'd imagine he was with Ramona or probably working but she would have known that. Then again Scott probably didn't tell her he finally got a job.

_Eh, I guess I shouldn't be the one that tell her. It's more of Scott's realm anyways. Well, since she's here…I might as well talk to her. The last thing I want to do is not look busy. Everytime I do, Joseph tells me that I have to rerecord my drumming session because I was playing too loudly for his microphone to register. Besides, it'll be nice little girl talk from an ex to an ex's girlfriend._

"Say Ramona, why not say awhile and listen." I said to her, hoping she'll get the reference. She just stared at me and walked into my room.

"Alright. I have nowhere to be." She said as she sat down on my bed. "So what's new Kim? How's the whole thing with you and Jason?" I shrugged at her.

"Do you want the honest truth?"

"Sure."

"I'm not really feeling a…a connection with him." I said to her. I didn't know why I told her the truth about our relationship. Maybe it's because she doesn't know Jason on a personal level. Or maybe it's because Hollie use to be the person I talk to about Jason but now that they seem to be hanging out a lot, I couldn't confine in her anymore. "I mean…we've been dating for awhile…and it's not like we're using each other either…it's just that, I don't feel that connection I had with my other relationships, you know?"

"I guess I understand what you mean." She said to me. "So what does that mean for you two? Are you going to break up with him?" It was an honest question. I haven't even considered the option before. The only solution I thought of was just letting it run and see if those feelings would come eventually. But it's been months now and I still felt nothing.

"I'm not sure. I'm not exactly the best at breaking up with someone. I'm not sure if I want to…" I said to her as Ramona gave me a shrug.

"Well if you claim that there is no connection, then what can you really do? Stringing him along like this isn't exactly the nicest thing in the world. I should know." I raised my eyebrow at her when she said this.

"What do you mean? You strung someone along Ramona?" She scratched her head nervously as she looked away from me.

"I'm not exactly proud of this, but yeah. I have strung someone along." I wasn't sure why, but I was suddenly drawn to Ramona's story.

"Wow…who was it? What happened?"

"Roxie Richter. It was a relationship I had in college."

"….Roxie Richter eh? Sounds like a girl's name." I said to her.

"Because it is a girl's name."

"Wait, so Roxie is…?"

"Yes, a girl."

There was a long silence.

"….I don't think we can be friends anymore Ramona-" I started but then Ramona pushed me.

"Don't give me any of that! It was just a phase ok? A small fling!" She justified her past actions.

"Ok! Ok! I'm sorry. Continue…." I said to her, leaning back and listening intently at her story.

"Roxanne 'Roxie' Richter was my roommate in college. She was an art major and her art was superb. One day she needed someone to model for her since her class was doing figure drawings and-"

"Oh dear lord you posed naked for her?" I asked her.

"Don't distort my story like that! And no, she just drew me while I studied at my desk. Truthfully, there was no real connection between us in the first year. Stuff started to get heavy when she asked me to see her gallery. A good majority of her figure drawings were me…and they were really good too. I guess that's when I started having a small thing for my roommate…."

"Fell for the artist type eh, Ramona? But come on…a girl? Really?"

"Hey, she was really good. And she shared a lot of her things with me when I ran out of food. It was a simple relationship. We kept each other company, talked about the important things in life, make out and fooled around every once in awhile when the mood was right…"

"EW! Didn't want to know that Ramona…"

"But the honest truth was that I didn't feel that much of a connection with her. I mean, I idolized her and I appreciated her company. But when it came to the relationship and what she really meant to me, I really didn't feel like the relationship was going to go somewhere. So I ended it."

"Wow…" I said, suddenly feeling an insight on my current situation. What she was going through as what I'm going through. But still…the option of breaking up with Jason? He's a good guy…and he keep give me company… "…so what happened after you two broke up?"

"Well, she changed rooms, obviously. I mean, how can you live with someone that can easily imagine you naked?"

"Oh God…I might throw up…"

"But for the most part we broke up on equal terms. Throughout the rest of college we would say hi and talk to each other. In fact, out of all my ex's, she's probably the only one that didn't end in heart break. Well, maybe I broke her heart, but she seemed fine about it."

"Wouldn't it be weird if she ended up being an 'evil' ex." I said as we both had a good laugh about it. "But man Ramona, you dated a girl?"

"It was an interesting experience…"

"Since we're being all truthful here, I have a confession to make. Somewhere, deep inside me, I wanted to see what it was like to be in a lesbian relationship in college." I said to her, looking away. There was silence. "I guess you lived the dream right?"

"Well, who says it's too late?"

"…what?" I asked as I turned my head to see Ramona, crawling towards me. I hesitated and started to scoot back a bit. Her eyes were peering into mine as I continued to crawl backwards until I hit the headboard. "Ramona what are you…?"

"Come on Kim. It's just me. You were planning to break up with Jason…"

"…I never said I was going to break up with Jason-"

"...and Scott doesn't need to know about it." She said to me as she slowly started to hover over my legs and my body, her arms and knees holding her up and trapping me in. I wasn't sure what to do. I wasn't sure what to think. I just couldn't break eye contact with her. "It could be our…" She started as she leaned in towards my lips.

"…Ramona I…"

"…little…"

"…no…"

"…secret."

"Hey Kim, could to you go to my room? I need to record you playing track 2 again. For some reason I can't hear the high hat and…" I heard Joseph's voice get closer until he was actually standing in front of the doorway. Both Ramona and I looked over at him, unable to move from the provocative position he caught us in. He didn't say anything right away. He just stared at us and we stared back. "…I always knew." He said as he walked back to his room.

"JOSEPH NO!" I yelled at him as I tried to get up and chase him down. I heard Ramona start laughing as I ran out the room.

_Through My Eyes 004c_

* * *

"That was not funny…" I said to Ramona, now back in my room after drumming for Joseph again.

"You should have seen the look on your face." She said to me as I sat back down on my bed.

"You know, I should have let you kiss me. That would have been one hell of a story to explain to Scott when I tell him what happened." I said to her.

"I don't know…knowing him he'll probably approve of the whole 'lesbian' thing." She said, a little depressed that her boyfriend would probably enjoy that his girlfriend is bi.

"Speaking of Scott, how are you two doing?" I asked her. "Last I heard, at least from Scott, you two were having a little fight." Ramona shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she looked out of my window.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Oh come on Ramona. You can tell me. I mean, we've been truthful this entire time and now you're starting to clam up? You can trust me…not like I'm going to side with anyone. I hate that idiot and you almost made a pass at me." I said, trying to reason with her. She thought about it and finally sighed.

"Alright. I'll tell you. But this doesn't leave this room…" She warned me as I got up and walked to the door, closing and locking it.

"There you go. Privacy…" I said to her as I watched her balled up on my bed, a familiar scene if people were watching my life. "So what's the matter Ramona?"

"Kim. You know Lisa Miller right? Has Lisa and Scott ever…you know…'done' anything?"

"In the time that he and I were together, I really hope not." I said to her. Suddenly, some of the pieces were falling into place. "Oh…I get it. You're scared of Lisa Miller…"

"I'm not 'scared' of her! It's just that…I don't know. History exists between them. It's not like you two because he told me about you two. What I'm scared of is…well, what if he had a thing with Lisa? Maybe when you two were going out?" Ramona said to me.

…_Oh my God…what if… _"S-Scott wouldn't have done something like that Ramona. He's stupid, but he has morals. Scott is probably the noblest guy I know. I mean, for God's sakes, she's fighting for you lov-." I caught myself before I said it. I looked over at Ramona, expecting some kind of response but she just stared at me. "…Ramona? I knew it's none of my business, but I just gotta ask. Are you in love with Scott?" Ramona didn't answer right away. She just shifted in place for a bit.

"I don't know…maybe." I sighed as I walked over and sat down next to her. "I'm just scared that I might hurt him like I've hurt my ex's in the past…"

"Look, you have nothing to worry about. Scott is a good guy. I should know. And I know what it's like to have uncertainty, but I guess it comes with the territory of being a girlfriend, right?" I said to her as she nodded. "If you really want to know the truth about Scott and Lisa, nothing happened between them… despite what Lisa wanted…"

"What do you mean?" I took a deep breath.

"Lisa liked Scott in the past. Not sure if she feels the same way now." I said, inadvertently admitting what was bothering me since the day Lisa told me that she use to like him. I didn't realize how much of an effect my words had on Ramona until I noticed her head starting to glow. "…Ramona?"

"What?" She snapped back.

"I…uh…" I stuttered, watching as the glow on her head starting to get brighter and brighter. I didn't want to say anything. I wasn't sure what I was seeing was natural, or something else. "…are you ok?"

"So Lisa had a thing for Scott back then, huh?"

"T-T-That's what she told me. I don't think she likes him now though. I mean, it's almost been, what, five or six years?" I reasoned with her, but she got off my bed and started to walk towards my door. "Ramona? Where are you going?"

"Outside. I need some air…" She said to me.

_Oh no…what have I done? _"A-Alright. Will I see you later at Sneaky Dee's?"

"Yeah, sure." She said as she opened my door and walked out. I wasn't sure what to do or think. But I knew for sure that I just made things worse for Scott.

* * *

_At Sneaky Dee's…_

"So what's up, Young Neil?" Scott asked Neil as we sat in our usual booth at Sneaky Dee's. In front of me, Scott Pilgrim, Stephen Stills, and what seems to be a remotely pissed off Ramona Flowers. Her vision was locked on Lisa, who seemed to have noticed the death glare she's been receiving. On my side of the booth is Young Neil, Lisa Miller, and me. We were all hanging out at Sneaky Dee's yet again. It wasn't that we didn't have anywhere else to go. It was mainly because it was the cheapest place we can do to get drinks. So naturally we all migrated here and nested. For me, I can't complain for 3 dollar, locally brewed, beer. After awhile, it all taste like water anyways.

"What do you think is up? Nothing's up! You assholes don't even hang out with me anymore!" Neil yelled at Scott, but mostly at all of us.

"It's not like it's intentional, man." Stephen tried to rationalize with him. "You have summer classes, and we haven't been practicing over at our place…"

"Why haven't we been practicing, anyway?" I asked Stephen, wondering why we haven't played a live show along with the recordings that we've done. I figure that doing both would help us with popularity.

"…we're recording right now." He simply said to me. I grumbled as his answer and looked over at Lisa, who was also staring back at Ramona.

"Um, Scott, I-" Lisa started but was cut off by Neil.

"He's been turning down shows, you know. The lady who books shows here keeps asking, and he keeps turning her down!" Neil yelled.

_They have shows in this dump?_

"They have shows at Sneaky Dee's?" Scott asked, completely oblivious of the death glare that Ramona is giving Lisa.

"Upstairs…" groaned Stephen.

"I had no idea."

"Why are you turning them down? I thought we wanted to play shows." I asked Stephen, but then my attention was diverted to as she started to move, leaving our booth.

"I gotta go to the bathroom." She simply said as she staggered out to the bathroom, Ramona still watching her as she left.

"Kim, we are recording right now." He said to me again, but I didn't care what he had to say. I was concerned about Lisa and the mess that I possibly made between her and Ramona.

* * *

"Hey Kim?" Scott said to me as we were walking together back to my place to continue to record for the Sex Bob-Omb album. "Can I borrow your katana?"

"Scott, I don't have a katana." I said to him, narrowing my eyes at him. "Why do you need one anyways? Did you get confronted by the Chinese guy again?"

"No no, it's not that. Ramona's ex. She's actually half ninja, or something. Either way, she has a sword and-"

"Whoa whoa, back up. What do you mean she? Is Ramona's ex a girl?" I asked him, wondering if it was possible that Ramona's four evil ex is actually Roxanne Richter.

"Yeah, actually. She said she had a bit of a phase in college or something. Either way she has this katana and she's been invading in my dreams to kill me, and…!"

"Calm down there Scott. Do you remember her name?" I asked, now very curious if it was the same person. Ramona never mentioned that Roxie was a ninja, or half ninja, but then again there's a lot about Ramona Flowers that people don't know about.

"Rhonda? Rachael? Roxie? Ahh! Roxie! That's it!"

"Roxie Richter?" I asked.

"Yeah….why? You know her?" I scratched my head nervously at his question.

"Kinda…sorta?" I answered.

"What? How do you know her? Did you date her at one point?" Scott yelled as he started to flip out. I wasn't sure what was worse. The fact that he asked if I dated her in some point in my life, or the fact that he was wigging out in public for all to see. I waved my arms, trying to get him to settle down so it would be less embarrassing for me to be seen with him in public.

"Scott! Shh! Calm down will you? I didn't date her, Ramona actually told me about her." I said to him as he started to calm down. "She told me that she was a fling for her in college. The relationship itself wasn't much. But she didn't mention that she was a ninja. Do you think she's connected with the samurai sword guy that attacked us the other day?" I saw Scott shake his head.

"I don't think so. Their fighting styles seem different. I don't think they were trained by the same teacher." Scott said as I looked at him questioningly. "Her attacks are more horizontal and she was attacking with more speed and agility than the old guy."

"Scott, what the hell are you talking about?" I asked him, marveling at his sudden display of nerdiness and stupidity.

"It's…I…nevermind." He said as we continued to walk.

"Hey Scott? Why are you doing this to yourself? Ramona is a great girl…but come on, you're fighting against someone with a sword. Worse, you're fighting two people with swords…" I said to him. "…I mean, is she really worth it?" Scott stopped walking.

"Well…yeah. She's worth it. At least she's worth it for me."

"So you would fight for her, even if, say, there were twenty evil ex's coming after you?"

"Even if there were fifty evil ex's, she's worth the fight." He said to me. I crossed my arms around my body, pondering if he was serious or he was just being cute with me. Either way, there was a question that needed to be asked. A question that I never wanted answered, but knew that eventually it'll be asked.

"Scott?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you in love with Ramona?" Scott didn't answer…and truthfully he didn't have to. I could see it all over his face.

_Scott Pilgrim is in love with Ramona Flowers. I shouldn't be surprised though. I mean, I guess it was bound to happen. Why else would anyone wade through this crap if they didn't love her? But I guess the same could be said about Ramona's ex's. Why try to fight for someone that broke your heart? I can only hope Ramona isn't toying around with him in the end. It would be a damn shame if she dumps him for another guy…_

"It's alright Scott, you don't have to answer." I said to him, still not getting a response to my question.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, let's just keep walking alright?" I said to him as we continued to walk. We talk for the next two blocks. We just walked in uncomfortable silence until Scott broke that silence.

"I've tried telling her…"

"…What happened? Couldn't man up and do it?" I asked as he nodded. "Oh Scott, look I…" I started but then I felt like someone was following us. I turned my head behind us and saw that no one was there. "…I think you should just come out and say it."

"You mean corner her and just tell her?"

"I don't mean corner her. I mean…" I felt it again. The presence of someone watching overcame me. I looked behind me again to see that no one was there. Was my mind messing with me again? But then I saw her. The dark ominous figure standing in the distance. My darker self was watching us as we walked towards her and then past her. But she didn't just stand there when we passed. She started walking with us, right by my side. "…I-I mean you should just sit her down and tell her how you feel."

**You mean like how you really feel about Scott?**

I paid no attention the voice that echoed in my head. I kept my eyes locked on Scott as we kept walking. "I don't know. I mean, she's pretty mad at me now. The whole thing with Lisa really got into her head."

**Oh? Looks like Scott and Ramona had a big fight last night. This may be your chance Kimberly…your chance to finally get what you wanted all this time…**

_Shut up!_ I thought to myself. "What happen Scott? Did you two fight again?"

"Yeah…I couldn't go to Ramona's place after the fight, so I went to Wallace's but he had a guy over. I was running out of options so…" Scott trailed, hesitating to say the next part. "…so I called Lisa and spent the night there."

"You spent the next at Lisa? The same Lisa that you and Ramona have been fighting over? Are you on crack?" I said to him as I felt my darker self smile with the sudden turn of events.

**Oh my, I would seem that their relationship is on the rocks Kimberly. If you play your cards right, you can get Scott back. Isn't that what you wanted?**

"It was a long night and Ramona just cornered me with the question. She asked if I had feelings for Lisa. I knew that whatever I said wouldn't help me. She just…I don't know…it would seem she was thoroughly convinced that Lisa and I once had a thing going on. But we haven't!" Scott defended himself.

**Oh my Kimberly…wasn't it you that told Ramona that Lisa liked Scott in the past? Looks like if they break up it would be all your fault. But don't fret, afterall once Ramona leaves Scott, he'll be ours for the taking.**

"Scott…" I started, trying my best to zone out my darker self. "You can't give up on her now. I've seen you two together. What you two have…" I started but the pain in my chest to say the next part was almost too excruciating for me to let out. "…people are searching their entire lives for what you two have."

**That's a lie.**

"…You're fighting to the bitter end for her Scott. You know how you feel about her and you damn well know how she really feels about you!"

"But what if in the end she leaves me?"

"If she leaves you…?" I repeated as I thought about it. "…then come find me. And we'll go get some cookies and cream ice cream and just eat away our sorrows." I said to him, trying to give him the most comforting expression I can muster. My darker self didn't say anything. She just walked with us and smiled at the sight of me and Scott sharing a small moment together.

"Thanks Kim. But can we make it cookie dough ice cream instead?"

"Don't push your luck…" I warned him. He knew I didn't like cookie dough ice cream. Back in high school it would be one of the things that we like to argue about. We got out my house and I opened the door for him. "Go, I'll see you inside. I want to get some fresh air for my head before it dies from monotonous playing…" I said to him as he went inside. I closed the door behind him and turned around to look at my darker self smiling at me.

**You lied to him.**

"I did what I had to do to get him to talk to Ramona." I said out loud, almost talking to myself. But I didn't care. I needed her to hear this. "What happened between me and him is over now. It's about time I started to move on." There was no rebuttal from my darker self. There was no taunting. She just stared at me with her blood red eyes, as if she was trying to see if I was telling the truth or not.

**You know what you'll be giving up, right Kimberly? The talks, the closeness, the attention he gave you whenever you felt alone and unsure of the future.**

"There will be other people that'll do the same for me, and more." I said to her.

**I'm impressed Kimberly Pine. I'm not convinced that you're completely over him, but impressed nevertheless.**

"Besides, I have Jason to keep me company now…" It was then I recognized that mischievous grin anywhere.

**That's a lie.**

"No. No it's not. Jason is keeping me…"

**That's a lie Kimberly Pine. Don't lie to yourself. It's the worst thing you can do. Admit it, the only reason you're with him, the ONLY reason…**

"It's not what you think it is…!"

…**is sex. The only real reason you hooked up with Jason Kim, is because you wanted someone to be intimate with you. The first guy that shows any kind of physical attraction to you, you automatically jumped on him.**

"That's a lie! It wasn't about…"

**Then why aren't you with him now? Don't you miss him? Don't you want to be with him and learn everything about him? Where's your connection with him? What are his hobbies? His goals? His ambitions?**

"I….I…" I stuttered. I didn't know the answer to any of those questions.

**What's his favorite food? His favorite color? The color of his car?**

"I think his car is red…"

**Face it…you know nothing about the guy. The relationship that you have with him has been built on a rotting foundation of promiscuity and binge drinking. You wanted to get laid, he showed a slight physical attraction to you, and so you went for it.**

I didn't know what else to say.

"…I know." Suddenly, the verbal abuse stopped and her voice started to get softer.

**See Kimberly? That wasn't that hard to admit, was it?**

I felt her presence walk towards me and give me a hug.

**It pains me to see you suffer like this…the lies that you feed yourself to go to sleep at night. If you just be truthful to yourself, you'll see that life isn't as hard as you make it to be. Once you realize that, maybe you'll understand who I really am.**

I watched my dark self dissipated in the wind.

_I guess there's only one thing to do then when I see Jason…_

* * *

I came back to my house early after another night at Sneaky Dee's with Lisa to find myself staring at the car of Jason Kim parked right outside our house. I took a deep breath and let it out, knowing what I need to do.

_Well Kim, this is it. You told yourself you'll end it the next time you see him and he's already here. Probably helping Hollie with something or other. I guess this is it. Man, I don't even know what to say to him…_

I walked to the front door and placed my key in the keyhole and turned. I felt that the door was unlocked so I pulled the key out and pushed it open.

"Hello?" I called, but no one answered. The living room and the kitchen were empty. There was only a faint sound of laughing and talking coming from upstairs. I quietly closed the door and placed my purse on the kitchen counter. "Maybe I'll make myself something before going up there…" I said as I opened the fridge and started taking out stuff to make a sandwich. I could hear the laughter and talking get louder upstairs so I hurried my sandwich and started to head for the stairs. "Alright, let's get this over with before…" I started but then something caught my eye. Hollie's purse hanging at the bottom of the staircase post. My eyes widen as my memory took me back a couple of months…

"_Okay. Welcome to casa de Hollie y Joseph. If you're going to say here we have a few rules. Rule one, don't burn down the house. Rule two, throw out the milk and replace it ASAP. Rule three, if you have anyone over and you have the intention of nailing them…"_

"_I don't think that I'll be nailing…"_

"_Kim, please. You have Jason. Anyways, if you and Jason decide to bump uglies, Joseph and I developed a secret signal to indicate that we have 'guest' over."_

"_Ok…so what is this super secret signal?" I asked her as she took her purse and placed it at the bottom of the staircase, right over the staircase post._

"_There you go! Well, for Joseph he'll just hang his messenger bag. After I walked in on him with his last boyfriend we realized we needed something to warn each other." Hollie said to me as she looked off in the distance. "I still have nightmares…"_

I took a few paces back as I looked up the stairs.

_Hollie's bag…Jason's car…She's helping him with his project…he's always here now…Hollie not telling me that Jason comes over…Oh my God. Jason's been cheating on me…_

I should have felt angry. I should have felt betrayed. I should have ran up those stairs, kicked open that door, and stabbed them all with the kitchen knife…and I did feel those things, and more. But after my few seconds of rage…those feelings…went away. I wasn't angry at Hollie. I wasn't angry at Jason. Don't get me wrong, I felt betrayed and Hollie can now go die in a fire. But the whole situation…I felt completely at ease with it.

"Maybe Jason and Hollie both found the connection that Jason and I never had. I guess I shouldn't bother them now. I'll come back later and do what I have to do. If not for me…then for him." I said as I picked up my purse and my sandwich and quietly walked out of the house, trying not to leave any trace that I was there.

_I guess I'll call Lisa back up and ask if I can crash as her place tonight._

Just then I got a call from Ramona Flowers. I flipped open the phone and answered.

"Hello?" I said, in a pleasant tone.

"Kim? That you?"

My voice went back to being sour and depressed. "Dammit Scott. When will you get your own phone?"

"Cell phones are expensive! Hey! Can you do me a favor? I need help moving out! I'm moving in with Ramona!" I raised my eyebrow at this.

"And she said yes? But who's going to be Wallace Wells' little butt pirate when you're not there?" I said to him, mockingly.

"Quiet! It's not like that at all! Look, Wallace already packed all my things in a box. Can you just help Stephen move it along with my bag of clothes?"

"…what that? A box? A bag of clothes? What about the rest of your stuff?"

"What stuff?" I rubbed my forehead at that response.

"…nevermind. I'll be there in the morning."

* * *

"For the love of God, you two. Get a room." I yelled at Scott and Ramona as Stephen and I got to Ramona's place, seeing Scott and Ramona sucking each others faces in their front yard. In my hands was Scott's bag of dirty laundry (as well as his clean laundry) and a poster that Wallace claims was his. Stephen was carrying Scott's collection of random crap that Wallace didn't want laying around.

"Thanks for helping me move in, you guys!" Scott said to us as I shook my head at him.

"Yeah, whatever. I can't believe you had the audacity to call us over for this." I said to him.

"Is this seriously your only box of stuff aside from those two garbage bags? That's kind of pathetic, man." Stephen said.

"There's also this poster, if you actually want to keep it." I said to him, placing the bags down.

"What poster?"

I unrolled the poster to reveal two girls in their bras and panties kissing each other passionately, arms and legs wrapped around each other. "Uh…the idiotic one? It's got girls kissing." I saw Ramona shoot a glare at Scott and he instantly looked over at me with a thumbs up.

"You know what? You can hang on to it, Kim. You might need it." He said to me. I felt my eye twitch as he said that and instantly ripped it in half in disgust.

"What? I ain't takin' your stupid poster!" I said, totally disgusted in his offer.

_Later that night at Korean Delite_

"To Lisa and her continued success!"

"HURRAH!" We all cheered as we a large room for our private party. It was the usual Sneaky Dee's crew: Scott Pilgrim who fails at using chop sticks, Ramona Flowers who seemed to be pressuring him into drinking beer, Wallace Wells and Stacy Pilgrim who are enjoying the party atmosphere, Hollie and Jason who seems to be enjoying the food but noticing the hands clasped under the table, Joseph who seems to be staring off into space, Stephen and Julie, apparently back together, were watching everyone have fun, Knives Chau who seems to be having too MUCH fun, Young Neil…not really enjoying himself, Lisa Miller, the celebrant who was absorbing the company, and me, watching the party goers.

"So your papers came through?" Ramona asked.

"That's right! I'm hopping on the bus on Tuesday."

"Ouch…long ride." I said, finally sipping on beer that didn't taste like the water from a toilet.

"She'll have the sweet memories of her time in Toronto to keep her company!" Knives obnoxiously yelled.

"Are we letting her drink beer again?" A concerned Julie asked as Stephen leaned towards the table.

"Hell yes we are, and it's hilarious."

(NOTE TO MINORS: Bryan Lee O'Malley condemns underage drinking and so do I. Don't give alcohol to minors.)

"So where's Mobile? I can't believe you've been secretly dating him since volume three…" Scott asked Wallace.

"He has a migraine. I can't believe you're drinking beer! Is this the transformative power of love, or what?"

"Nah, I'm just forcing him. How is it, baby?" Ramona asked, cuddling up against Scott as he took another swig of his beer.

"It's yucky…"

"Will we see you again?" Wallace asked Lisa as she scratched her head nervously.

"I don't really know yet…"

"Maybe on the big screen, right?" Ramona jumped in.

"I hope so!"

"La la laa la la la lee loo lalalalala…" Scott rambled as I saw the effects of beer take over Scott Pilgrim's fragile little mind.

* * *

_As so…Monday night came…_

Lisa and I were at her sister's place, moving the rest of her stuff down to the first floor so the taxi can pick it up in the morning.

"I think that's everything…" She said as I help lug down the rest of her bags. In total she had 5 bags all to herself.

"You know…" I started, but feeling a bit winded from the heavy lifting, "the airport is going to have a field day with all these. How the hell are you going to move all this stuff once you land?" I asked her, a bit curious of what she's going to do when she's at the baggage claim.

"Don't worry about it. The company said they'll come get me and help with the luggage."

"Sure, but is this all necessary?" I said, waving my arms around indicating all of the bags that surround us.

"Hey, a girl has to have her make up." She said as she reached for the door and opened it.

"I fail to believe that this is all makeup Lisa…"

"Come on…let's go for a walk." She said to me, motioning me to walk with her. I nodded as I followed her out and we started walking along the sidewalk. It was a cool night tonight. The moon was full with all two holes visible, the sky was clear and all the stars were shining their hardest. We made it to a small playground were Lisa and I sat in open swing seats and start to swing slowly back and forth. "Hey Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for everything." I looked over to her and smiled.

"No problem. It's the least I can do. Besides, I get to spend more time with you before you leave. Thought you should have mentioned that there would have been 5 bags because that was ridiculous-"

"No. I mean, thanks for everything. As in everything you've done for me." She said as she stopped swinging and looked at the ground. "I'm not that great at goodbyes, and I'm not sure if I'll ever be coming back to Canada. So incase that happens, I just wanted to thank you for being the most awesome friend in the world." She said to me. I couldn't help but feel sad now that my best friend was going away for good.

"Hey…hey don't say that Lisa. You'll be back. You'll be back and you'll tell us all about the States and how big of a star you are. You'll be back…"

"But if I don't…"

"…you'll be back…!"

"KIM! Please!" Lisa yelled at me. I stopped myself from talking anymore. "There is a good chance I might not come back…and I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye to Scott or the rest of them. But the least I can do is give you the proper goodbye that best friends give when one is leaving for good." She said as she got up from the swing and pulled me into a hug. I was taken by surprised, but I returned the hug in all of its love and strength. I didn't want to believe that she was going away for good, but in case she didn't come back, then I better make the most of it.

"Lisa, you're the best friend I've ever had. Whatever life throws in your way I'm sure you'll conquer over it three times over. I swear though, if you don't write to me or keep on contact with me, I'll fly down to the United States and I will find your ass and…"

"Ok! Ok! I get it…" Lisa said as we finally broke apart and looked at each other. "The same goes for you Kim. No matter what the future holds for you, I'm sure your life will be full of happiness and prosperity. And that's a promise. Cross my heart." She said to me. I could feel tears starting to well up in my eyes. I could also see that tears were also welling up in her eyes as well. "Don't give me that look Kim. You're going to make me cry." She said, rubbing her eyes. I started to rub my eyes too.

"You're the one that started to cry…" I said, trying to protect my ego.

"Says you. I'm an actress. I'm made to cry on cue." She said as we both started to laugh. We sat on the swing set again and rocked back and forth. "I'm sorry to hear about Jason, Kim."

"Yeah…don't worry about it. I guess it all worked out for the best. I'll break up with him tomorrow after I see you leave." I said to her, remembering that I told her about Jason and Hollie.

"So are you still trying to go after Scott?" I confidently shook my head.

"No…honestly I think I'm finally over him." I said, a little proud of myself for saying that. "What about you? Are you over Scott?" Lisa just kept swinging along. I actually stopped swinging and stared at her. "Lisa…?"

"It's a nice night outside, isn't it?"

"LISA?"

"Haha…Sorry Kim. Got side tracked." She said to me, but I knew she was lying. "I guess I'm over Scott as well. He's in love with Ramona. Can't break him away from the girl that loves him. Worse, I can't break him away from a girl that loves him back. It'll just be wrong, you know?" She said to me, with a smile. I shook my head as started to swing again.

"You're talking about Scott and I back in high school, aren't you?" Lisa nodded as her swinging became slower.

"I never wanted to break you and Scott up. And I knew my feelings would pass….and they did. When Scott left, I could see how much you missed him. It made me glad that I never did try to go for Scott. Besides, we're not exactly a perfect match. He like cookie dough ice cream for God's sakes…"

"I know right?"

"But you know…times change. People change. When I saw Scott again in the beginning of the summer, he definitely was a different person than before. He still had that geeky charm, but something changed in him. He had a will to fight. A determination. I could only imagine that he was fighting just for the sake of fighting, but he was fighting for a noble cause. He was fighting for the woman he loves. It was a nice change…kinda made me feel attracted to him. But fighting for love? Heh, there is no way that you can get in the middle of that."

"I know what you mean…" I said to her. "I just sometimes wish that life didn't have to change so drastically. When he suddenly left our school…I don't know. I was mad for all the wrong reasons…and…" I said but Lisa cut me off.

"It's alright Kim. Change is scary. It makes us move from what is comfortable to what is uncomfortable. But you know what? Change is also good. It allows us to start over. Kinda like a clean slate. What we decide to do with that slate is up to us. We can try to write the same story for us, the same story that we've been living for the past couple of years, or we can just start new."

"Start new huh…" I repeated as I because to ponder about something.

"Kim, you ok?" Lisa asked as I got up and stood in front of her.

"Lisa…" I started, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry about getting mad at you. I'm sorry about being a horrible friend…"

"You never got mad at me. You've never been a horrible friend either. What are you talking about Kim-"

"I'm talking about when Scott left." I said to her. There was a moment of silence. "I took out all my anger on you. And you were the one that was trying to get me to see the brighter side of things but I kept pushing you away. Even now I still hate you for being the bringer of bad news. For changing my life forever. For liking Scott Pilgrim…" I said to her, looking away from her. "I'm sorry for everything that I've done to you…and the rift I created between us for all these years. Can you find it in yourself to forgive-oof!" I expelled air as Lisa got up and squeezed the air out of me.

"Kim I forgive you for everything…" She whispered in my ear. I wasn't sure if it was my tears or hers, but I could have sworn I felt moisture on my face. "…I'm glad that you decided to forgive me for that incident in our lives. I hope that nothing like that will ever happen again."

"Me too…" I said to her as we hugged each other tightly. I felt my soul feel better, as if a heavy load was lifted from it because of my apology. "You know…" I started, trying to get the mood for serious to a less serious note, "if you hug me any longer I would have to say you're trying to make a pass at me."

"Oh please Kim. We've kissed before. Compared to that, this is nothing."

"Wait, we…what?" I said, breaking the hug and looking at her.

"You don't remember?" Lisa said, a bit surprised. "In the theater room?"

* * *

_St. Joel's Catholic High School's Theater Room_

"Please Kim! Please!" Lisa pleaded with me as I started to walk away from her, heading towards the exit.

"No! When you asked me to meet you here I though you just needed help with lines. But…but THIS? I don't think this counts as 'reading lines'." I said to her, doing the quoting gesture with my fingers.

"Please Kim, please! This may be my big break! I'm Romeo in the School's play! And they're not going to cast a boy to play Juliet! I need someone to practice kissing!" Lisa pleaded again as I cringed at the thought of us kissing.

"Please stop saying that. Look, why don't you ask whoever is playing Juliet if you two can practice the kiss or use tape over the mouth or something."

"But I need to practice with another girl!"

"But WHY ME?" I said, coming back to her and pointing at myself.

"Kim! I trust you with all my heart! I wouldn't come here on my hands and knees…" She started, before dropping down to her knees, "…begging for your help. Please Kim! My big break! For the band? For the band…? For the band…?" She repeated. I let out one of my loudest sighs before looking behind me, making sure no one was around.

"….frickin' fine! I'll kiss you." I said as Lisa got up and rushed me.

"Yay!"

"Whoa girl! Not so fast!" I said to her, scared that she'll just start kissing me right then and there.

"Oh…sorry. Um…how to do this…" Lisa said as she removed her signature pink pearl hairclip and tossed it to the side. Her shoulder length blonde hair was now fully down with her bangs covering her forehead. She slowly wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close to her. I found myself arcing away from her.

"Ok ok ok! I'm starting to feel nervous again!" I said to her.

"Kim! Come on! I'm just trying to get the mood right!"

"You're TRYING to get the MOOD RIGHT?" I raised my voice as her arm around me held me there while her other arm reached up and removed my scrunchie, allowing my red hair to fall freely. "Lisa I…"

"You have great hair Kim. It's a shame you don't leave it down like this often. It looks great for you…" She whispered to me. I could feel my heart starting to accelerate at a high rate. "I can see why Scott likes you so much. Your red hair and cute freckles makes you irresistible." She said as she started to lean in. I felt my eyes start to close as I felt her breath against my lips.

"Lisa…"

"…Kim."

* * *

"And then we started to make out!" Lisa happily said as I was now on my knees, scratching head violently.

"OH MY GOD THE DETAILS!" I yelled as I started to remember that moment in school. I buried that particular memory in the deepest, darkest, regions of my mind, hoping that they will never resurface. With the sudden earth cracker of Lisa's story, more and more dark images of that particular memory came back and all the things that happened after it. "Oh God…and then we…and then there was the stage…and the….OH GOD!" I yelled.

"Haha. Come on Kim. You know, you're not that bad of a kisser. Though I must say that you barely open your mouth. Hopefully you don't do that now, right?"

"Lalalala! I can't hear you!"

"Come on…your memory can't be that bad. You know what's bad? When you start to drink a lot. I swear, your memory turns to crap when you start to go from drunk to completely smashed.

"That's not half true…" I said. "The last time I got completely smashed was at the beach party before meeting you…and I remember that night as clear as day." I said to her but Lisa was rubbing her chin.

"Really? Scott told me a very interesting story over the summer during that party. Something involve Knives…?"

Lisa said to me as I thought back a bit.

"With Knives? I haven't done…" I started, but then insight hit me. "…oh no…"

And then it all came back to me in waves. Me, kissing Knives….Knives kissing me back. Our tongues…our hands…where we were touching each other. It all came back in horrible detailed waves.

"Um…Kim? Kimmy, you ok there?"

"NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, grabbing my hair and pulling it.

A little girl stood off in the distance watching the scene. A little girl wearing a princess costume…and three shackles tethered to three pillars.

* * *

End of Chapter 4

That's it~! Book 4 is done and the chapter 5 is on its way! You know…as soon as I start working on it. PLEASE review for the chapter as a whole, not as part. If you're reviewing the chapter in parts, feel free the review the part but ALSO review it as a whole. I plan to actually bunch them all together in the end, making a huge super chapter.

So who is the little girl? You guys should know by now…

Keep looking at my profile for story updates and _"Until Next Time…!" ~V4tM_


	10. Chapter 5a

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: As always, thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing my story! It's been a tough month with real life duties to fulfill and school to study for so sorry that this update is coming a bit late compared to the other updates. I have the story planned out, just haven't found time to write it. So hope this is worth the wait, please read and review, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.

* * *

It was September 27th and we were all over my place to celebrate a friend's birthday. Our small group consisted of Ramona Flowers, Stephen Stills, Julie Powers, my roommates Joseph and Hollie, me, and the birthday boy Scott Pilgrim. Hollie finally came out of the kitchen, holding up a cake with twenty-four candles lit all around the rim. The design in the middle was an icing drawing of Scott's face. Not my kind of design, but I guess it was nice and thoughtful since his girlfriend did it. But seeing it for more than ten seconds makes me want to punch it for some reason…

"Happy birthday baby." Ramona said to him as Scott look like he was about to freak out in any moment.

"How does it feel to be positively ancient?" I asked him, resting my head on my hand. It was a running joke I had with him in the past. With our birthdays being only a month apart, me being the youngest, I would like to joke about how much older he was. I saw Scott turn his head towards me, well, more like towards everyone and pointed his index finger at us.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make!" Scott said really loudly as Ramona leaned away from his thrusting finger. I smirked as I continued to watch him.

_Oh this will be good…_

"I, Scott Pilgrim, will be the best twenty-four year old…EVER!" He said to us as he turned to his cake and blew out his candles. I felt my stomach churn as I saw a combination of air and spit fly out of his mouth.

_Yeah…I guess I'll pass on the cake this year…_

Ramona helped Scott cut the cake and passed it to everyone. I humbly declined as looked over at Scott, who was already digging into his own cake.

_Whatever happen to not having your cake and eating it too? Oh whatever…_ I sighed as I watched everything that was going on around me. Stephen and Julie seemed to be back together…though it would seem that Stephen wasn't too thrilled with the idea. Joseph was sitting in silence, eating his slice of cake. Hollie was doing her best not to make eye contact with me, probably because of the whole 'sleeping-with-her-roommates-boyfriend' thing. As for Ramona, she was wiping away the thick coat of frosting that was developing over Scott's mouth. _Another birthday…another year…come and gone like the wind. And what a year it has been. From playing at our first big gig, opening for a famous band, meeting people from the past, remembering horrible things in the past…it definitively has been a year to remember. Or at least a year for the records. A lot has changed…_ I though as I looked over at Ramona and Scott. _People have changed. Life as I knew it has definitely changed since I came here…but most importantly, I have changed. Not sure if it's for the better…_

"Come on Kim, eat some of my cake!" Scott said to me as he handed me a slice. I cringed at the slice he offered and what I thought was spit on the icing.

"T-That's ok Scott. I'm not much of a 'cake' person…" I said to him backing away.

"Come on! Please! For old time's sake?" He pleaded as I glared at him. I always hated when he played that card on me. 'For old time's sake'. It's a cheap guilt trip to make people do what you want. What's worse? It always works on me when Scott does it. I begrudgingly took the plate and fork and broke myself a piece, far away from the icing on top. I saw Scott's anticipation grow as I brought the forkful to my mouth and ate it, chewing it slowly.

"Mmm…there. Happy?" I asked him as he nodded.

_Urg….coconut. Who the hell orders a coconut cake?_

_Voice4TheMute Presents…_

* * *

"Hey Kim, when did you cut your hair?" Ramona asked me as we both were walking back to my place. She was just going to see me halfway before heading back home. I, myself, just got off my night shift and manage to catch Ramona at Second Cup, so it was nice to have a traveling partner back to my house. I looked up at my short red hair and ran my fingers through it.

"I got it cut awhile ago Ramona…" I said to her as I looked at her hair. I've see her hair change color more times than a chameleon but for some reason…her hair color hasn't changed in the last couple of months. In fact, her hair started to get longer and wavier. Was this the natural hair style of the mysterious Ramona Flowers? "What about you Ramona, you're hair is getting longer and you haven't changed color." This caused Ramona to reach up to her own hair and weave her hands through it.

"Hmm…I guess you're right. I've been too busy nowadays to change it." She said to me as we continued to walk.

"I guess Scott's been keeping you busy. I always thought that you were the one that kept Scott on his toes with your exes…but I guess it's an equal partnership right?" I joked as Ramona continued to play with her hair. I waited for some kind of response from my statement but never got it. "Hey Ramona, you ok? You're zoning out on me."

"Oh, sorry about that. I guess I was lost in thought." She said. Something I said got her thinking, but I didn't want to pry into her mind. I'm sure she gets that a lot with Scott. We reached our midpoint and stopped to say bye.

"I guess I'll see you later Ramona."

"Yeah, I'll see you later Kim." She said as she started walking towards her house. "Oh! Kim! Are you going to Julie's party?" She called out to me.

"Julie is having another party?"

"I believe so…It's her Halloween party. And I believe she's having a Day of the Dead party as well." She said as I scratched my head.

"Maybe. Julie's parties are becoming more….frequent haven't they?"

"I guess…Kinda makes you wonder what we're doing with our lives." Ramona said to me before she continued to walk home.

"I guess I'll go. I'll give you a call when I'm about to go." I said to her as I walked towards my own apartment.

_Never thought life would bring me here. I thought I would be more settled in life. A high paying job…possibly married…but where am I now? Almost twenty-four, partying every chance I get, and in a band that's recording their first record. Not something that I thought was an option…but I guess I'll settle for it. Though the cheating boyfriend did mess up my ideal future a bit…_ I thought to myself as I made it to my place and opened the door. I didn't see it right away, but when I looked up I saw Hollie and Jason in each other's arms, as if they just finished kissing. My sudden entrance was too fast for them to react as if nothing happened. So they were stuck in their awkward position with me staring right at them.

"Well speak of the devil…" I said to myself as they both stared at me, horrified and scared of what was going to happen next.

_A story based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim"…_

"Kim! Oh my God Kim…i-i-it's not what it looks like!"

"Kim. Please! It's not what you think. I-"

I felt my world start to spin as Jason and Hollie tried to plea with me about what I just walked into. Here I thought I was fine with it…but when I'm actually confronted about it…

_What's going on…what's happening to me? I thought I was ok with this but…but…_ I felt my hand ball up in a fist. _Stupid Hollie…why did you have to date HIM? And JASON! What the hell? Why would you go for my roommate? Arg! I just wanna…_

"Kim please! Listen to me." Hollie said to me. But I felt a driving force take over me. Something took hold of my actions. Something dark and sinister…

"Why? So that you can use that information to sleep with my boyfriend?" I snapped back at her, glaring her down. She instantly shut up, speechless to my sudden remark.

"Kim…I…"

"Kim. Please. Let's go outside and talk-" Jason tried to get me to calm down but I turned my head towards him, glaring at him with the same intensity I gave Hollie.

"Why? So that you can sway me with empty words while you continue to bang my roommate?" I said to him.

"Kim, calm down…" Jason said as he reached and held my shoulder. His sudden touch made the beast that was thrashing inside me break loose. I swatted away his hand with my entire arm.

"Don't touch me! Don't you DARE touch me you lying, cheating, bastard!" This caused Jason to back away from me. Hell, if I was able to see myself right now, I would back away from me too. This persona of me…I've only experienced it once before…and even then I was afraid of who was really in control. Was it me? Or was it this darker side of me that existed but never unleashed. But what scared me the most was that this anger, this hatred…this is not the darker half that has been haunting me… "You." I said as I looked at Hollie. "You used the information I gave to you about Jason and me. You used the things that I thought you weren't going to tell anyone. I told you my worries about the relationship, what things that we like to do, the things that we don't like…you used that information to get Jason into bed, didn't you?" I said to her, not raising my voice in anger, or in sorrow…just a monotone and dark voice. "And you…" I turned my head to Jason. "You knew I'm usually away from the house and that I get home late. So you had the window to come in and out without my knowing…In fact, my hours changed because you wanted more time together…" I said to the both of them. I felt the anger that was building in my chest was about to erupt. I didn't want to be near either of them when it did. "Well you two got what you wanted. I hope you two have wonderful, retarded, children in the future." I said as she turned around and walked out the door, slamming it behind me. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to go. I just couldn't stay there with those two idiot backstabbers still in the house. I had to go somewhere….but where? With Scott living with Ramona and my best friend Lisa Miller living in the States, I had no one close to talk to. But then it hit me. There was one more person I could go to. I walked to the street and called a cab to come pick me up. I knew this person would still be awake. Afterall, he's always been there when I needed him. Hopefully he's not asleep at this hour.

_Through My Eyes 5a_

"You know Kim…not that I don't like having you over but why do you come over when it's three in the morning?"

"Sorry Stephen…" I said as I sat on the couch of Stephen Stills, balled up in my usual corner. I watched as Stephen disappear into the kitchen and reappear with a pint of ice cream and a spoon. "It's just…I had nowhere else to go."

"It's alright Kim." He told me as he handed me the ice cream and spoon. I took it and started to scoop myself my first spoonful of comfort. Stephen sat down next to me and sighed.

"That's pretty heavy though…you caught your boyfriend and your roommate together? That will do numbers to your psyche."

"I thought I was ready." I said to him as I chiseled away at the ice cream. "I mean…I already knew that he was cheating on me so…"

"Wait, you KNEW he was cheating on you?" Stephen said to me, a combination of shock and confusion was mixed in his voice. I just stared into my ice cream and stabbed it a couple of times with the spoon.

"Kinda sorta. I came home early one night and I found Jason's car parked outside our house. He was up in Hollie's room laughing and giggling and….I don't want to talk about it." I cut myself off as I scooped another spoonful and placed it in my mouth. "When I found out I actually wasn't that mad. In fact I was actually planning to break up with him that same day. Funny how life works I guess. But that's the thing…I was the one that was going to break up with him. You would think I would react in a less…bitchy way." I said, admitting to myself that I may have overreacted back there. "I knew what was going on and I accepted it, but when it was actually staring at me in the face…I acted as if I discovered it at that moment." Stephen sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.

"I guess it's hard to figure out how we will react when the time comes. I mean, you can spend hours and hours practicing for a show but it does not take away the nervous feeling you get before going on…you know?" He said to me as I nodded. I'm always nervous when we play in front of crowds. Even in high school, whenever we played in front of the school, I would still get nervous. There was some truth in what Stephen said afterall. "So don't beat yourself up too much. You acted now any girl would react when they discovered that their boyfriend was cheating on them. Actually you reacted a little less. Normally they would have stabbed the girl or the guy…or both." I shook my head as I ate more of the cookie and cream ice cream.

"Thanks Stephen…" I said as I placed the carton and the spoon down. "Thanks for talking to me."

"No problem, Kim. You know you I'm always available to talk. Just do your best to catch me when I'm awake, ok?" He said to me as looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Aw come on. Don't you like staying up all night? Besides, I'm surprised that you're here and not with Joseph working on the Sex Bob-omb album. I think I see you more there than back here."

"Yeah…Joseph and I had a little fight last night so he's not talking to me." Stephen said to me.

"You had a fight with him? What the hell? So what's going to happen to the album?"

"It'll be done…just gotta give him time to cool down…"

"Oh…"

For some reason the air around us was a bit awkward. I wasn't sure why…but I just needed to change the subject and fast. "S-s-so…how's Julie?" I said, maybe switching the topic to Stephen's old new girlfriend would brighten the mood.

"We broke up."

"You gotta be kidding me…"

"Yeah…it was a mess. I think she's still at Sneaky Dee's drinking." I punched him in the arm for that answer.

"What the hell man! Why do you keep stringing that poor girl along?" I yelled at him as he balled in a defensive stance when I hit him. "You guys are on and off more times than a light switch. Will you two either stay broken up or just marry each other already?"

"Hey hey hey! It's a lot more complicated than that ok?" Stephen defended himself. "Trust me when I say that what you're seeing on the outside isn't what is happening in the inside."

"Julie is still a girl! You have no idea what's going inside our minds when a guy breaks up with you." I tried to reason with him. It was a weak argument, and I wasn't too sure why I was defending Julie, but even she doesn't deserve to be strung along like this. "I mean, what could possibly be so complicated with your guy's relationship?"

"…I think I'm gay."

I blinked a few time, trying to register what Stephen just said to me.

_Well…that certainly complicates things…_

* * *

_Julie's New Apartment…a few days later…_

"Y'know, I never through I'd say it but…" I heard Scott started as he, Ramona, and I were at another one of Julie's parties. "…I think maybe I'm getting sick of themed parties."

"Tell me about it." Ramona agreed as I took a sip out of my beer. Probably the only good thing about Julie's parties is that the booze is decent…and free.

"Okay, underwater pimp and ho party, Canadian politics circa 1972 but you're secretly batman party, then the last one…"

"That one was Halloween, so I think it gets a free pass." Ramona said to him.

_Actually, that one where everyone was secretly batman was kinda fun. Unnecessarily specific, but fun._

"Then what's this?" Scott asked before that familiar smell of someone who obviously splashed around in a vat of their own perfume came towards us. It was enough to taste it in your mouth.

"It's my Mexican Day of the Dead party, you retard." Julie said, sophistically holding a glass of wine.

"Dia de los muertos!" Her female lackey said.

"Man, Julie, ever since you moved over here it's been non-stop." Scott said to her as she started to walk away from us, giving us some much needed oxygen.

"Yeah, well, next time I'll think twice about inviting your ass." She said as she left us alone.

"Whatever…her outfit is barely even theme-appropriate. This party sucks."

"Imagine she didn't invite you, though? What would you do?" I said sarcastically as I took another sip of my beer. "No horror-themed Mexican food, no slutty dead people…you'd be missing out on a real cultural bonanza."

"Ehh, at least she's trying. Or something. I guess." Scott said as I shook my head, obviously not picking up the fact that I was being sarcastic.

"Trying to run us into the ground." Ramona added.

"I need some air." I said, rubbing my head. "The stupidity in here is making me feel faint."

"Hold that thought…I see ex-boyfriends." Both Scott and my attention suddenly perked up when she said that to us.

"Plural?" Scott asked.

Over in the direction that Ramona was looking at stood two Asian guys who clearly stuck out in a themed-costume party. The one on the left was bleach blonde, wearing a white button down collar shirt with matching white pants. His bangs were unbelievably long for a guy, reaching almost to his chin. The other guy had black hair with, what looks like, a sleeveless Japan themed shirt and black pants. If they weren't standing next to each other I would assume they were unrelated…but there was something about those two that didn't feel right.

"Kyle Katayanagi and his brother, Ken. The twins." Ramona said as the light bulb in my head suddenly turned on.

_Oh! They're twins…got it. Wait, twins? Ramona dated twins? ….at the same time?_

"What are they doing here?" Scott asked.

"Maybe you should ask them." I said to him, arms folded. Ramona told Scott's hand as they both walked to the twins. I decided to tag along as well, just to see how this will develop.

"…hello, boys." Ramona said to them as they both turned to her at the same time. A creepy smile across their face as they looked over at the two.

"My goodness. It's Ramona Flowers." Kyle said as his twin brother spoke right after him, almost completing Kyle's train of thought.

"How lovely. Are you here alone?" Finished Ken.

"She's with me!" Scott yelled at them. This only amused them.

"And that would make you…Spot Pilgrim." I slapped the palm of my hand to my face as I heard that.

"Uh…it's Scott."

"'Spot' isn't even a name, Ken." Ramona informed him. "Unless you're, like a dog."

"Please forgive me. English isn't our first language, you see."

"So are you guys here to fight, or what?" Scott said, stepping forward with his fist already clenched to knock one or both of the twins all the way back to Japan or China or whatever the hell they came from.

"Fight? What are we, barbarians?" Kyle said as I raised an eyebrow at them.

_They're not going to fight? But if they're evil ex's…what are they doing here?_

"Okay…I'm confused." Scott admitted as Ken pulled out what looked like a remote control. With a simple push of a button, a mechanical noise was heard from the door that leads to the balcony. We all turned our heads as the door slid open, revealing a three foot robot pointing at Scott.

_What in the…_

"Hey-" Scott started but just as it came in, it made a lunge at Scott who took its initial blow head on.

_SCOTT!_

"You've got some style these days, Ramona. Very avant-chic." Kyle said as the robot continued to pummel Scott.

"It's Halloween." Replayed Ramona as my attention shot back and forth between the fight and Ramona's conversation. ((A/N: It says Halloween even though it's a Day of the Dead party…either it's a mistake in the book or I didn't understand something…~V4tM))

"You look…healthy." Ken said, in a rather sleazy way.

"Settling in nicely? I don't think we've ever seen your hair this long, either." Kyle added as Ramona was a bit lost of words. I decided to step in, not wanting her to reside in her mind for too long. The influence of people around you, especially around ex's, can make you do or say things you might regret later.

"Well, I still need to breathe some air, so we'll speak to you gentlemen some other time." I said as I placed a hand on Ramona's shoulder. She slowly got the hint as we both started to walk towards the balcony.

"I don't think we've been properly…introduced." I heard one of them say but I didn't bother to turn around and answer. As we headed to the door, we ducked once to dodge the robot sailing across the room from Scott's right hand.

"So I guess you've dated some real jerks, eh?" I said to Ramona as she reached into her pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes. She took one out of the box and placed it in her mouth.

"Yeah, but who hasn't?" She replied as I thought back a bit. To my surprise, the first person I thought of was Jason then Scott. I guess that breakup really did affect me.

"Tell me about it." I said as I looked over the balcony.

"You want a smoke?"

"Nah…I'm good."

We both stood there in silence as we looked out from the balcony. Something was bothering Ramona but I didn't want to pry it out of her. After what seems to be five minutes, she finally opened up. "Is he okay in there?" I raised an eyebrow at this.

_Does Ramona doubt Scott? He's one of the best fighters I know. Scott can turn that robot into scrap metal with ease. But how interesting…She never once thought that Scott could lose a fight. If Ramona doubts Scott's skills now, then something is going on inside her head. _

"C'mon. He's Scott Pilgrim." I said to her, trying to rebuild her confidence in her boyfriend. I heard the sliding door open and we looked behind us. Julie popped her head out and yelled out at all the smokers and air breathers,

"A tiny robot is kicking this guy's ass, if anyone wants to watch." She said to us. "Oh, and then the band's gonna play."

"Wow…live music." I said, slightly impressed by Julie's party hosting skills.

"Yeah, man. And the band is dressed up like skeletons and stuff." Said some random, eavesdropping guy. Suddenly the respect I had for Julie and her party planning flushed down the toilet.

"Clearly no expense has been spared."

"Hey, didn't you guys used to be a band?" Ramona asked as I stared at her with dead eyes.

"What, you didn't hear? We're recording now." I said as I brought two fingers and pointed them to my head, mimicking a barrel of a gun. I then proceeded to shoot myself and lay down on the balcony railing, dead.

"Tell me about it."

"I used to play the drums, three times a week. My life had structure. And now…recording for months." I said as rubbed my head in frustration.

"Maybe you could take up kickboxing, or something." She said to me. "Caber toss."

"Yeah, or I could just go on a murderous rampage!" I said as I heard Ramona's phone vibrate in her bag. She took out her phone and flipped it open. My spirits rose a bit.

"Tell me that's an excuse to get out of this hellhole." I pleaded as Ramona looked over at me, not amused by the text she just received.

"Ehh, no…it's a text from Wallace Wells. I'm like the personal secretary for his little mash notes to Scott." She said as she showed me the text.

**From: Wallace Wells**

**Hey budddddy! Im a drunk 4 u. (U = scott)**

**Fri, 11:19 pm**

"Aww. That's adorable." I said sarcasticly.

"You think so?"

"Uh, no."

_Why can't people know when I'm being sarcastic? I mean…seriously…_

* * *

_Kim's Place_

"I can't hear the hi-hat." Stephen complained as Sex Bob-omb was holding another late night recording session. Both Scott and I were on Joseph's bed, brain dead and tired as Stephen and Joseph listen to the track for hours on end.

"Then your ears are retarded."

"Don't be a bitch, bitch!" Stephen said back to Joseph.

"Can we hear the song?" Scott said, drowsily.

"In a minute."

"You've been saying that for an hour." Scott groaned as I laid on the bed and rolled over to look at the two huddled at the computer screen.

"I don't' even want to hear it. I've heard it five thousand times." I said, remembering all the recordings that I had to listen to of me drumming. It was always 'you're drumming too loudly' or 'you're drumming too softly' even 'can you hit that hi-hat a little harder'. So enough was enough. I didn't want perfect. I just wanted it done. "Why isn't it finished?"

"I want her out of my house." Joseph said to Stephen.

"Uh…she lives here."

"Uh-huh" was Joseph's reply to Stephen's remark. He quickly removed his headphones and turned to us.

"Okay, let's take a break. Emergency band meeting gang." He said as Scott and I groggily got up and walked out of Joseph's room. Stephen led us back to my room where all of our equipment was. I took my spot behind the drum set while Scott unconsciously picked up his bass and sat on my bed.

"I was thinking maybe we could practice for a bit…" Stephen finally said to us as he sat on my desk.

"You want to have band practice?" I said, rather surprised.

"We're a band, aren't we?"

"Oh my God. I'm hallucinating." Scott suddenly yelled. Stephen and I both looked over at Scott then back to each other.

"We were hallucinating when we started a band in the first place." I said, sad on where we currently stood. We were a band that didn't practice, didn't have any shows, no gigs, no fans, nothing. Oh how Sex Bob-omb went from zero to zero in almost two years.

"Settle down, we have a show, okay? There, I said it." Stephen blurted out. I turned to him, wanting a verification of what he just said, but Scott starting to ramble again.

"Guys, I think I'm hallucinating."

"It's at Sneaky Dee's and it's on Sunday. Big deal." He said to me as I raised my eyebrow at him.

"This Sunday?"

"I had nothing to do with it, alright?" Stephen said. "I think Julie set us up in a petty act of revenge." I shook my head.

"What did you DO to that girl?"

"We broke up." He said to me, but I already knew that.

"For like the fiftieth time!" Scott yelled. I sighed and picked up my drumsticks. I looked at the beaten pair of wooding sticks, and all the memories of how each of the notches was made.

"Can we be a band for a minute? Can we, like, play a song, maybe?" I said, twirling the sticks in my hand as muscle memory soon took over.

"Hell yeah! Let's play 'Kim's song'!" Scott yelled obnoxiously.

"It isn't my song! Learn the freakin' titles already." I said to him

"But…you made up the beat for it."

"Just cout us in before he moment passes!" Stephen yelled at me as I nodded at him. I raised my sticks in the air and took a deep breath.

"**LIVE! FROM MY BEDROOM! WE ARE-**" I took another deep breath. "**SEX BOB-OMB!** **ONE! TWO! ONE TWO THREE FOUR!"**

And so we played…

…for two and a half minutes…

…two and a half sucky-ass minutes…

"Okay, we're doomed." I said to them, now depressed on how far my skills have dropped from our recording session.

* * *

_Something like 18 hours later…at Sneaky Dee's_

"Do we have a plan?" Stephen said to us as we were in the men's restroom, trying to get Stephen Stills OUT of the bathroom so we can set up backstage.

_Stephen Stills' stage fright is legendary. At least when it comes to shows we're not prepared for. One example was when we opened for a small commuter campus. They asked us to perform a day before so we didn't have a plan or a set list made up yet. Stephen Stills, thinking of the popularity it'll generate for the band, accepted the offer. And what happened when we got there? Stephen spent two hours lost on campus, occasionally throwing up in trashcans because of his nervousness. I didn't expect him to hold it together so well here…by now he would have ran out or vomiting uncontrollably…oh, as for the campus gig? We manage to get him to play three songs before calling for a break for him to settle down…his strumming and singing was twice as fast as normal so it was a pain to keep up._

"Of course not! Oh my god. I'm dreaming. Wake up, wake up, wake up…" Stephen said to himself over and over to his reflection in the mirror.

"Oh you're always like this." I said to Stephen, as I sat on the bathroom counter. "Once you're on stage, you'll be fine. Doomed." I added.

"We just were on stage for sound check and the sound guy hated us and we shouldn't even be here!"

"It's just nerves, man! Pre-show jitters! People love us." Scott said to him, trying to reassure him. I scoffed at his comment though.

_I wouldn't say people love us…it's been what? Three months since our last show? I'll be surprised if people still remember that we're together…_

_A few minutes later…backstage_

"We're doing 'Herself' first, right?" I asked Scott as I sat on his bass amp. Scott was drinking his water before turning over to me.

"Uh…yep."

"Is Ramona coming?"

"Yeah, for whatever reason." Scott said, a little irritated. "I mean, it's not lie she likes our band." I gave Scott a swift smack to the back of his head.

"Dumbass, she likes you. She's supporting your lousy endeavors, don't knock it."

"…you're right. I guess I should be grateful or something." Scott admitted as I drank my cup of water, prepping my throat. The song 'Herself' involves me singing as well and the last thing I wanted to do was parch my throat.

"You're damn right I'm right." I said. I saw Stephen on stage already and he signaled Scott to come over. I watched as Scott leave and went back to drinking my water.

**You sure seem supportive of Scott and Ramona. But is that a lie Kimberly?**

_I told you already…I'm over Scott. Ramona is my best friend and Scott and I are on equal terms now. Lisa has forgiven me about the whole 'Scott' incident and I'm no longer mad at her for being the bearer of bad news._

**Sure…but what about Scott?**

_I'm not mad at Scott._

**Are you sure? I mean…he didn't tell you that he was leaving. You had to learn through the grape vine. Wasn't this the man that you were thoroughly convinced that he would-**

_I'm not mad at Scott! It's not his fault that his parent decided to move! Or that he's an idiot that can't man up for once and tell me what's going on in his mind!_

**That sounds like hostility, Kimberly.**

_The only thing that I'm hostile about…is your constant butting in my life. I don't know who you are, and really, I don't care. I just want to be left alone alright?_

**I can't do that Kimberly. You and I are the same person. If you can't accept me for who I am, then you'll forever be haunted by your own self. I'm here to help, believe it or not. **

_Yeah…helping me find the nearest cliff to jump off of…_

**You can't keep denying your feelings. Whether you're mad at Scott or in love with him is how you really feel. **

_I'm not mad…_

**Just…?**

"Just…a little disappointed that he didn't come to me and tell me he was moving…" I said softly to myself as I stared into my cup of water.

"Kim! We're going on!" Scott yelled at me as I snapped out of my trance and headed on stage. Both Scott and Stephen were already set up and ready to go. The crowd was pretty big, but most of them were looking in Scott's direction for some reason.

_As long as the eyes weren't looking at me, that's fine._ I thought to myself. _Ok… 'Herself'. That's a decent speed and tempo. Let's get this started._ "WE ARE SEX BOB-OMB!" I yelled, getting ready to count ourselves in for 'Herself'. "ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!"

There was a clash of notes, and I heard Scott and Stephen start to play. As I kept drumming to the tempo and speed of 'Herself', I noticed something that was off. Something that was extremely off. _What the hell? Why are they strumming so damn fast?_ I tried to speed up my drumming but no matter how I altered the timing, it seemed that Scott and Stephen were both off time. Compared to each other though, they were on time. It was just me who was off. _What the hell? Why can't I get this right? It should be slower…'Herself' isn't suppose to be done that fast…and why hasn't Stephen start singing yet? …oh God dammit…I'm playing the wrong song!_ I realized as I tried to listen to what Stephen and Scott were playing. It took me awhile to realize that the song they were playing was 'Erasmus' not 'Herself'. _Son of a bitch! Dammit Scott Pilgrim! Let's see…_ I though as I tried my best to pick up the beat but before I could correct myself something landed on stage. Something heavy and metal. I looked up to see that a robot just came on stage and it had its sight set on Scott.

"Uh…Scott…"

The robot threw back a punch and swung at Scott at full speed.

"SCOOOOOOTT!" I yelled as he finally stopped playing to see a metal fist coming right at him. Almost skillfully he dodged at the last minute, only taking a small fraction of what could have been a devastating blow. Scott rolled on the stage his bass still in his hand as he starting to breath hard, using up a lot of his energy just to avoid the attack.

_What the hell is a robot doing here? The last time I saw a robot was…wait… _I desperately starting to look around and there, in the front, stood Kyle and Ken Katayanagi. I instantly turned to Scott who was staring down the robot. "Scott! It's a trap! The Katayanagi twins are here! This entire thing was a setup!"

"The Katayoga twins? Who are-OOF!" Scott exhaled as he was caught off guard again. The robot landed a left punch to the chest which caused him to fly backwards into the wall.

"You idiot! The Katayanagi twins! Kyle and Ken! Ramona's evil ex's!" I yelled at him as he was slow to get up.

"Kyle and Ken?" He coughed as he looked around and notice them too. I saw the fire in his eyes light up as he got up, bass in hand as he held it upward like an axe. "Stephen…" Scott said, as if something took over him. I knew that look. I've seen it plenty of times. He was fighting for a reason. More specifically, he was fight for Ramona.

"Yeah?"

"Get Kim offstage…." He simply said. I walked over to Stephen as we both made some room, but didn't fully get off the stage.

"Scott!" I yelled. He looked at me with those determined eyes and I nodded at him.

"Give it hell." I said to him as he smiled at me before charging at the robot in full force. With a horizontal slash of his bass, he made the first attack on the metal monstrosity. It jumped backwards and lunged at him again with another right jab. Scott manage to fully dodge it this time and threw is right knee into the chest of the machine.

"OW! DAMN! That's hard!" I heard Scott yell as I cupped my hands to my mouth.

"It's a robot you idiot! Of course it's going to be hard! You gotta break it somehow!" I yelled at him as he continued to play defensively, dodging and evading the attacks of his metal opponent. Scott thought about it, and then looked at his bass.

"Scott look out!" I heard Stephen yell as the robot went for a right hook. Scott managed to duck underneath the punch and took a side step so that he was positioned off the robot's right side. I saw him lift up his bass in the air and in one fell swoop, threw his bass downward in a vertical slash. The body of the bass connected with the neck of the robot and its entire head severed off, cutting off all of its power. As the crowd continued to cheer for the carnage that took place on stage, I found myself taking a sigh of relief.

_Whew…nice work there Scott. I knew you could do it._ I haven't seen Scott fight like that for awhile….haven't seen him so serious to defend someone….haven't seen him so concerned over me…

"What the hell is going on here?" Ramona said as I saw her emerge from the woman's bathroom. Her voice was slightly aggravated, but curious nevertheless.

"Oh man! You missed all the action!" Scott said, looking up at Ramona.

"Did I?" She said as she look at the flyer that was next to her. As I looked around, I saw the same flyer design pinned up on the wall backstage.

**A Robot will kick Scott Pilgrim's Ass while u watch!**

**Sneaky Dee's, November 14****th**

**Robots Provided by **

**K&K Katayanagi**

"Yeah, apparently this whole gig was a setup! This robot was supposed to kick my ass." Scott said to her as Ramona continued to look at the flyer.

"How did you guy snot notice these flyers?"

"So do we finish our set now, or what?" I asked, a little bit curious.

_Were we really playing to a crowd or was it indeed just a whole setup for Scott. I mean….we have the instruments here already. All we need to do is…oh God…_

Both Scott and I glanced over at his bass and saw that it was broken right at the neck. There was no possible way to repair it either. And by the looks of it, no one in the crowd is carry a bass on them…meaning…

"I think the show is over…" I heard Stephen said.

"You think?" I replied as I turned around and started to head backstage to get my stuff ready to go.

* * *

"That may actually have been the worst show ever." I said as we were walking from Sneaky Dee's.

"It wasn't your fault, Kim." Stephen said to me as Scott patted Stephen in the back.

"It wasn't anyone's fault!" He said to him as his eyes narrowed at him.

"Yes it was. It was your fault."

"C'mon! At least we had a good time!"

"Please die now, Scott." I said to him as we continued to walk in the cold.

"Hey, do you have your keys? I totally forgot mine again." Scott said to Ramona. I felt my curiosity go up as Scott and Ramona started to argue with one another.

"Again? Didn't I say I wouldn't let you in next time that happened?" Ramona said to him.

"Yeah, but…you're right here. I mean, it doesn't count if I'm with you. Does it?"

"I dunno…gotta stick to my guns, right?"

"Are you kicking me out?" Scott yelled as I felt my inner self cheer a bit. For some reason I found myself liking the idea that Scott and Ramona were fighting again.

"What? No! C'mon. I just…I need some me time, y'know?" She said to him but it didn't change his reaction of shock. "It's a small apartment dude."

"No, yeah…good idea. Take all the time you need." Scott said to her. "I'll just sleep over with one of my many friends who don't hate me." He said as he looked over at Knives, who hates him for breaking her heart, Stephen, who blames him for ruining their gig, and me, who hates him for being him.

…needless to say the odds of him sleeping over at any of our places were out of the question.

* * *

**So what happened back there Kimberly?**

"Nothing happened…now go away. I'm about to go to sleep." I said out loud as I started to undress and get ready for bed. I felt my darker half form on my desk and watch my movements as I paced back and forth in my room.

**Are you sure? When Scott was fighting that robot you were pretty concerned about his safety.**

"If you saw one of your friends fighting a robot, wouldn't you be concerned as well?" I said to her as I slipped into my pajama bottoms. I saw her cross her legs and lean back against the desk board.

**True…but I felt it. And I know you felt it too. That feeling of want…that feeling of security. Only one man was able to make you feel like that…**

"It was a moment of weakness. I told you that I was over him…" I said as I looked in my drawer for my pajama top. "Man I really hope Hollie didn't take my-"

**Yes you did. And you were over him…but seeing him again like that. That determination to protect. That burning passion he had….the fact that he was concerned about your safety and didn't want you getting in the middle of the fight. **

"like I said…it was just a small moment of weak-"

**Not to mention the fight that Scott and Ramona are having right now. Tell me, why were you so curious about it? Why do you like the idea that they're fighting right now?**

It was a question that I couldn't answer when I asked myself back then. But after talking to my other self, I soon realized the answer. And it was exactly what I feared all along.

"**I still have feelings for Scott…"** I said, in unison with my darker self.

* * *

To Be Continued…


	11. Chapter 5b

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: As always, thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing my story! Chapter 5 has been split into three parts so this is the second installment of book 5. Hope you guys enjoy it, hope it holds you 'til I write the next chapter, and I'll see you guy next time!

Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.

* * *

_Voice4TheMute Presents…_

_I didn't want to go to work. Not that I like work to begin with. I just know that once I step inside that building…_ I opened the door to No-Account video to see Hollie sitting at the counter, a bag of donuts facing towards me and a cup of coffee with my name on it…literally. _I knew she would be there…_

_Through My Eyes 005b_

"Hollie I quit." I said as I turned around to walk out the door. I heard her jump over the counter and reach for me, pulling on my shoulder to turn me around. I gave in to her force. It was early in the morning and I didn't have breakfast yet. The last thing I wanted to do was fight back when I was running on three hours of sleep…that realization I had last night…I was up all night thinking about it…

"Kim! Kim! Please! Hear me out!" She pleaded as I meet her eyes with my cold glare. I looked over her shoulder to see the donuts and coffee marked for me and sighed.

"Fine…you're lucky I didn't have breakfast yet." I said to her as I made my way behind the counter and pulled out a chocolate donut from the bag. I sat in my usual seat and leaned back into it, propping my feet on the counter. "You have five minutes." I said to her as I took my first bite.

"Kim. I'm sorry. I'm SO sorry about what happen! If I could go back and change everything I would." She started. I wanted to interrupt her about her going back and changing everything. Somehow I knew if she could go back, she wouldn't change a damn thing. "What happen between me and him…it was an accident. He stopped by one day while you were at work and offered to help me move stuff. We talked, he told me his ambitions and I told him mine, he talked about the future and so did I…there was no way I could have seen it coming but somehow we ending up talking about you two."

"Us?" I said, raising an eyebrow as I took the coffee that Hollie got me and took a sip_. Black coffee…excellent._

"Yeah. Believe it or not Jason wasn't feeling a connection between him and you. I guess you can say you two had the same connection that you weren't feeling one. Kinda ironic when you think about it…" Hollie said to me as I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Yeah Hollie. A real riot." I said sarcastically. "Even if we didn't have a connection, that doesn't give you the right to just swoop in and take him away from me." I said to her.

"I know! I know!" She repeated, burying her head in her hands. "I'm not saying that I did was right…what I'm trying to say is that the relationship was going to fail and…"

"And you were nice enough to end it for us. Thank you Hollie." I said as I finished my donut. "You should work at a suicide hotline…"

"Kim please! I know you're mad at me…but even you admit that the relationship was going nowhere. You told me that you're not feeling the same thing that you felt when you were together with Scott." She said as I felt my heart sink and the mere mention of his name. "I know what I did was wrong…but please forgive me…"

"You know what Hollie? I'm not mad about you stealing Jason away from me. You know what really bothered me? That you used the information that I confined in you to get to him. That's a real slap to the face Hollie. You knew the struggles I had with him and you used it to your advantage…" I said to her. She didn't response. She didn't have to. I knew I had her pegged. I drank the rest of the coffee in one gulp and started to head to the door.

"Kim I…"

"I'm going to get some fresh air. If I stay here any longer I feel I might catch your retardation…" I said as I opened the door and walked out. At that very moment, I saw Scott looking at the entrance to No-Account, ready to come in. "Let's go." I said to him as I continued my path away from that place and that girl.

"What's up? I was just gonna come inside for a minute, say hi to Hollie…" Scott started but I cut him off by the mention of her name.

"You don't need to see Hollie." I said as I continued to walk.

"Are you guys fighting?"

"We're not fighting. I just-" I started but caught myself in mid-lie. "…forget it, okay?" Scott hustle to match my speed as we walked passed A & M super karaoke bar.

"Living with her isn't working out, eh?" Scott said to me as I looked over at him. _Not that it's any business of yours Scott Pilgrim…_ "Well, we did each other's hair for a week, then she got depressed and stopped doing dishes and now I hate her." I said, summing up the entire month in a nice, coherent sentence.

"I…don't…" Scott said, rather confused on the situation but I really didn't expect him to understand it anyways. It was definitely way out of his normal comprehension level.

"Don't worry about it Scott." I said as looked around. "Why are you wandering around Toronto anyways?"

Scott stopped for a minute and thought about it. As I cross my arms and waited for a response, a blank expression spread across his face that I was too familiar too. "Um. I forgot…" He said as I slapped my forehead.

"It's a miracle that you remember to breath, Scott." I said. "Don't you have work today?" I asked him as he shook his head.

"No. Stephen Stills isn't working either. Maybe I was looking for him…" He said, rubbing his chin.

"How do you not remember if you're looking for Stephen Stills!" I yelled at him. I sighed as I saw a small bakery across the street. That one donut Hollie bought me didn't satisfy me and my stomach was gurgling the word 'donut'. "Come on Scott. Let's get some food. I haven't finished breakfast yet…"

"Finish breakfast?" Scott repeated, confused.

"You heard me." I said as we walked into the little bakery. It wasn't a well known place, but they knew how to cook up a good batch of donuts, ranging from the classic chocolate donut to a very delicious Turtle donut. Old Santos' wasn't a chain store, but they do have several places set up all over Canada. The reason I know about this place is because the store that I used to go to back when I lived in Northern Ontario told me that they had a place set up in Toronto. When I first moved here, this was the first place that I wanted to find. What was nice is that each of their stores was made exactly the same. Same color scheme, same tables, same uniform. It always reminded me of home…or at least better times.

"Welcome!"

"Hi. Can I get…uh…that chocolate donut. The one with the sprinkles." I said, pointing at their wide selection. I looked over at Scott, who was staring at the donuts with a bit of drool coming out of his mouth. I took a long sigh as I spoke up to him. "Do you want one Scott?" His head instantly shot up.

"Really? You mean it Kim?" He said to me as I felt dizzy for a moment. I closed my eyes to refocus but then I heard it.

"_Do you want one Scott?"_

I opened my eyes and looked off to my left in the direction the voice came from. There, standing right beside me, was me…wearing my St. Joel's uniform. She was opaque and kinda hard to fully make out, but the way she talked…the way she dressed…I was sure it was me.

"_Really? You mean it Kim?"_ I heard another voice as I looked over to where Scott was standing. Off to Scott's side stood another opaque figure. This one was also wearing the St. Joel's uniform. It was Scott who was standing right there. Scott from high school. I rubbed my eyes to make sure that my mind wasn't playing games with me, but I still saw them.

"Yeah." I said, almost in sync with my ghostly double who was right next to me. "I'll buy you this round if you get the next." _These words…I've said them before. But never in this donut shop…but the one back in Northern Ontario._ I reached into my pocket and gave the money to the cashier. I took the two donuts, as did my ghost counter-part and I saw both real Scott and ghost Scott come towards us and reach for the donut.

"Thanks Kim. I owe you one." Scott and ghost Scott said at the same time. But something different happened. I saw the opaque vision of Scott lean in towards my opaque self and give her a small kiss on the lips. I felt myself get embarrassed and flustered seeing this again. _That's right…Scott and I use to come to this place after school for a snack. He's the one that introduced me to this place…_ I thought to myself as real Scott took his donut and started eating. For some reason, I felt a little disappointed that Scott didn't do anything for me…no friendly gesture of thanks, no hug, no kiss…

"You ok there Kim?" Scott asked as I realize that I was just standing there, donut in hand, and still in front of the register.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Just…thinking…" I said as I saw the ghostly figures of Scott and me walk out of the store, hand in hand. I couldn't help but feel depressed at this sight. It was so carefree back then. No complications, no drama, when I was with Scott back then…things were simple. They were easy…I always imagine that's how relationships where. Easy…simple…no complications…but that's just not how life works.

"Thinking about what?" Scott said, mouth full of donut. I walked to an empty table and sat down. Scott followed close behind and sat down as well.

"Remember when we use to come to Old Santos' back in Northern Ontario and get donuts there?" I said to him, seeing if I can jog his memory.

"…I think so. Did they move? I didn't know Old Santos' move down to Toronto. That's pretty cool…"

"They didn't move you idiot. They have a place set up here as well. They just keep the same building scheme."

Scott looked around the building again. "I guess you're right. Now that you mention it, it does look like the same place back up there. Good times. Good times eating…" Scott trailed and looked at his half eaten donut. "…uh, donuts."

"Yeah…" I sighed as I reminisced some more. _I'm sure we came here at least once a week and got something from them. The owner would sometimes give us a two for one deal because Scott and I were dating. Actually….this is the place where we would go to end our dates._ "Remember how we use to come here and get a donut before ending out dates?"

"We use to date?" Scott said as I felt my eye twitch.

"I'm going to punch you so hard in the face…!" I yelled at him before he finally wised up.

"Oh yeah! That's right…" he said. I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or lying so that I don't hit him. Either way I accepted it. "Didn't we use to switch off on who bought the next round or not?"

"Yeah…those were some good times…" I said as Scott nodded.

"Good times…" Scott repeated as we sat there, just eating our donuts. "Kinda makes you wish that you can go back and do it all again..."

I felt myself get hot again as Scott said that. I could feel my head get cloudy and hazy. He was expecting a response. Those kinds of questions should never be left in the air like that. He needed a response but my head and my mind were getting bogged down by past memoires. I instinctively said the first thing that came to mind. "…yeah. Yeah it does…" We both sat there in silence. I didn't want to look up but I knew he was looking up at me. "M-maybe Stephen Stills is at his place. We should go." I said, getting up quickly and headed for the exit. Scott was slow to get up, most likely because he was still scarfing down his donut, but he soon caught up to me and I was able to clear my head again.

_It's all in my head. It's because of that stupid fight at Sneaky Dee's that I'm feeling this way towards that…that…_ I looked back to see Scott, donut pieces and icing still stuck around his mouth. _…that guy. I don't love him. I know I don't. I guess I just…_

"_Hey Kim?"_

I looked across the street to see our memory selves walking down the street, hand in hand. Though they were far away, I could still hear their conversation.

"_Yeah Scott?"_

"_Where are we going?"_

"_We're going to Lisa's, remember? We have band practice." _I heard myself say as our clasped hands swung almost carelessly forward and back_. "Hey Scott?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_Do you think Lisa likes me?"_

"_What? Why do you say that? Of course she likes you. Why wouldn't she?" _Scott asked my ghostly self. I didn't respond right away.

"_Forget I said anything."_

"_What?"_

"_I said forget it." _I heard myself say as she dragged Scott's arm down and kissed him on the check.

"Hey Kim?" I heard Scott say to me as I looked over at him. "Do you think that our album is finished yet?" I scoffed at that statement.

"Scott, the day that album is finished is the day that hell freezes over. At this rate, I might as well find myself a new hobby because drumming seems to be out of the picture."

"But you LOVE to play the drums!"

"I do…I really really do. But it would seem that any time I'm having fun, someone has to come around and ruin it for me." I said to him, putting my hands in my pockets to keep warm. "I mean…was it really a good idea to start the band in the first place?"

"I think it was. Look where it got us. We got cool friends, played some awesome shows, good memories…"

"But we don't do that anymore Scott. Ever since we started to record, everything has gone downhill." I said as I looked down at the sidewalk. "I hardly play anymore. I use to wake up in the morning and do a jam session just to get myself ready for the day. Now…well, I'm a little bit more spiteful that usual."

"We should start our own band!"

"We can't just leave Stephen Stills like that. Even if he was the one that drove Sex Bob-Omb to the ground…"

"Oh yeah…maybe some time in the future we can start our own band." Scott said as I thought of the idea for awhile. _I guess that wouldn't be a bad idea…_

"Wait, neither of us can come up with music the way Stephen does. Plus neither of us can play guitar."

"What? I can so play guitar!" Scott said to me. "I was lead guitar back in the day."

I rolled my eyes. "I guess…but you weren't that good at it."

"That was back then. Now I'm great!"

"When was the last time you actually held a guitar Scott?" I snapped at him as he through about it.

"Um…I think I handed Stephen Stills' guitar to him once."

"You're an idiot…" I said as we got to Stephen Stills and Young Neil's house. Ever since we started to record, Scott and I haven't set foot in their house…well, other than the time I came here after discovering, officially, that Jason has been cheating on me. Scott knocked on the door but no one came to answer it.

"Maybe no one is home…" Scott said as he bent down and moved a piece of the wooden flooring that he was standing on and reached into the crack. He took out a small brass key and placed it in the lock. "It's a good thing Stephen Stills told me about this. I would come by and hang out sometimes…drink their milk…eat their food…"

"Breaking and entering eh, Scott?" I said to him, staring at the back of his head. "Nice…"

Scott pushed the door open and we peered inside. The main living room was empty. It used to house all of our gear and amps but now that all of it was back at my place, the living room looked very dead. The only thing left was the couch, a coffee table, and a TV.

"Stephen Stills, are you still mad at me?" Scott called. His voice echoed all over the house. "Why don't we hang out here anymore?" There was no response, but there was the sound of faint music being played…and the smell of cigarettes. Scott looked just as confused as I did so we walked further in to investigate. The source of the smoke and music was coming from a small room at the end of the hall. As Scott and I looked inside, there, sitting on his bed with headphones on and a lit cigarette in his hand, was Neil.

_Neil…I didn't know you smoked. Oh man, have we really forgotten about you ever since we started to record?_

"He's out." Neil said to us, removing his headphones.

"Well, where is he?" Scott asked as Neil took a drag out of his cigarette.

"I dunno. Band practice?"

"We're the band, though. I informed him, pointing and Scott and I. "We're right here." Neil just stared blankly at me. Maybe there was something that he knew that we didn't. Did Stephen jump ship and joined another band? I had to get more information. "Do you see what I'm saying?" Still no response from Neil. I figure there was nothing else he was going to tell us. If, in fact, he did spill the beans, there would be no way that he'll spill more. "Let's go Scott…" I said, turning around. "Good to see you again Neil."

"W-Wait! Where are we going?" Scott asked as I walked to the front door.

"I'll tell you when I figure it out…"

* * *

Our long journey brought us to the park where Lisa and I said our farewells before she moved to America. As I surveyed the area, I felt that this place was the last honest place in the whole city. A place where I could meditate freely…a place where I could sort out all the problems in my head and find solutions.

"The park?" Scott asked as he stood right beside me. I nodded as I made my way to the swing set.

"I come here sometimes to think…" I said as I sat down and pushed myself gently off the ground to get myself swinging. "It's a nice place to go to when I need to get away from my home and from all of you guys…"

"And you brought me to your sacred place? I'm touched Kim…honored even."

"Don't flatter yourself too much there Pilgrim, I just needed some thinking time. Company is always nice too…" I said as I looked over at him. He sat in the empty swing seat and began to swing himself as well. We both sat there, swinging back and forth, not say a word to one another. Scott slowed himself down and looked around the park.

"Uh…I'll be right back. Gotta pee." He said, getting up and walked off to the left, even though the nearest restroom was off to the right.

"Thanks for the bladder update." I said sarcastically as I was left alone with my thoughts…or should I say left alone with _her._

"How long have you been following us?" I said aloud as I looked behind me as saw my darker self sitting on top of the monkey bars. There was a mischievous across her face as her feet swing back and forth, almost playfully.

**You two make a cute couple…**

"You're starting this again? Come on now…you must have some new material by now." I said to her as she continued to smile at me.

**I can rephrase it as many times as you want, but the underlining message is that you two do make a cute couple. Maybe you should make it official.**

"He's going out with Ramona, if you haven't been paying attention for the last couple of months. Wait a minute…are you the one that's been projecting these images of Scott and I from the past?" I said, turning myself around in my seat to fully look at her. I knew she would nod her head, but to my surprise, she shook her head.

**As much as I would love to take credit for it, I am not.**

"What?"

**You're doing that yourself, silly girl.**

My eyes widen as I looked around the park. There was no way that I was the one doing all this. But as I surveyed the area, I saw them again. The memories of Scott and me inside the park. They were sitting on top of the playground, looking outwards towards the city.

"_Too bad we can't get to the top of those trees. I bet the view would be so much better…" _I heard her say to Scott as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"_Yeah. That would be a better view than up here. But I guess we just have to work with what we got." _ I felt my eyes get soft as I saw her hugging Scott close.

**You're doing this all by yourself. Your mind is reminding you of those good times you spend with Scott…**

"_Scott…that has to be the worse sand castle ever." _I heard her say. My attention went from the images of Scott and me on top of the playground to the images of us in the sand. I got off my seat as I walked towards that memory and observed the two.

"_What are you talking about? This is the best sand castle ever!"_

"_It's only one pail high…and it isn't even holding together." _My past self said she poke the small sand castle. It instantly deteriorated and Scott started to freak out.

"_My sand castle!"_

"_Told you…" I heard her say but she looked at Scott's sorrow for his lost of his sand castle. She moved over next to Scott and hugged him "Here…let me teach you how to make a more…um, structurally sound, sand castle…"_

…**and the silly times you had with him. These are you true feelings for Scott Pilgrim. Whether you want to admit it or not, these are your true feelings…**

"_Nice night huh?"_ I turned my head to where the voice was coming from to see me, in my forest green prom dress. Scott was right next me, his coat draped over his shoulder and his bowtie untied around his neck. We were walking down the path, hand in hand as we were coming back from St. Joel's prom.

"_Yeah, it is a nice night. That was some dance though…did you see who Lisa was dancing with?" _Scott said to her as she started to laugh.

"_Yeah, I never would have thought that she would say yes to him!" I heard myself say to him as she got closer to Scott. "So what do you want to do now…?"_

"_Well…there is one thing that Lisa gave me."_

"_Scott?"_

I turned around, expecting to see another memory. But to my dismay, the memories of Scott and me were now everywhere in the park. Sitting on the benches, kissing under the trees, feeding the squirrels, no matter where I looked I saw a different memory of Scott and me doing something in the park.

"_Hey Kim, what do you think? Maybe if we start with 'Her Sunshine' then the crowd would slowly ease into us as a band. I mean…if we start with 'Rox the Sox' then everyone will think we're this super death metal band…"_

"_Hey Scott? Look at these leaves…they're so red…"_

"_Kim! Check it out! I think I found a bunn-oh shoot! Nevermind! It's a gopher!"_

"_Scott. It's almost time to go. Why are you still looking up in that tree?"_

The voices and the memories were overwhelming. I sat back down in the swing chair as I tried my best to zone out the different conversations that were happening around me. But no matter what I did to cover my ears or how tightly I shut my eyes, the voices still rang in my head.

"_Scott, what did Lisa say to you after class? She seemed kinda worried…"_

"_Kim! I thought I would find you here….I…! Kim? Kim, why are you crying?"_

"_Scott! Get down from there! Ok, I believe you! You can climb up trees but please get down from there already! You look like an idiot!"_

"…_Kim? Are you sure you want to do this? This is a pretty big step for our relationship."_

The voices kept getting louder and more frequent as more and more memories came up. Soon, the entire park was populated by this image of Scott and me. Each of the memories I heard…they made me realize how big Scott was in my life…how big of an influence he was growing up…how much I loved him…

"_Scott?_"

My eyes shot open. The way that sounded…it was familiar. Very familiar…almost too familiar. I looked up to see all the memories have disappeared…except for one.

"_Lisa said you were moving away…"_ I heard her say. My throat became dry and my breathing became shallow.

"No…" I said softly as I watched the darkest memory I have between Scott and me.

"_Is it true?"_ The memory of Scott didn't say anything and I saw my past self getting angry.

"_Scott…please talk to me. Tell me." _But no response from Scott. "_Scott Pilgrim! Tell me you're not moving away! Tell me that I wasn't going to be the LAST to know about this! TELL ME YOU WERE GOING TO TELL ME!"_

But Scott didn't say a word. I didn't expect him too. He just turned around, like he did so many years ago, and walked away. I watched as my past self broke down in the grassy field as he left me.

**I think you know what you really want now…** I heard my darker self say as the memory of myself slowly faded away. I couldn't look away from the spot where I saw myself break down and cry.

"Seeing it again…and all those memories. I now know what I want from Scott." I said to myself as I looked over to where my darker self was. But she wasn't there anymore. She was nowhere to be found.

"Hey there Kim." I heard Scott, the real Scott, say to me as he casually walked back from the lavatory. I looked over at him as he came, the carefree look on his face made my soul winch in pain. "Are you hungry? I was thinking of getting Thai food…if you want."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." I said to him as he turned around and started walking. I followed right behind him, occasionally looking back at the park where the memories of the past congregated to help me come to terms with my feelings about Scott.

* * *

"We'll get two orders of Pad Thai but easy on the spice on one order." Scott said to the waiter as he scribbled down the door and walked away. I looked at him, a mixture of surprise and shock as he made that order really fast. Usually it takes him twenty minutes to make up his mind, one minute to change his order, then another ten minutes to change it back. By this time the waiter already asked us to leave.

"Wow…you were fast to order there Scott. And what's with the dulling of the spices? I thought you liked spicy food." I said to him as he looked up at me, a bit confused.

"Well, you always ordered Pad Thai before. Were you going to order something else?"

"Uh…no. I was going to get the Pad Thai-"

"And you always complain that the Pad Thai I ordered was too spicy, so I guess it would be considerate to make your mild…" He said as I raised an eyebrow.

"What's with you Scott Pilgrim? Since when did you suddenly become Mr. considerate? Did the doorway we passed through zap your brain so that your brain cells function normally?"

"Huh? No…I guess it's just something I remembered."

I stared at him when he said that comment. "You remember that? After all this time?" Scott nodded his head.

"I guess so. You don't like spicy food… when we go get Thai food, you order the same thing… favorite color is…"

"Hold the phone." I said. "So you remember everything that happened in the past? Even though a couple of hours ago you asked if you and I dated?" I asked as Scott thought about it for a minute, but then nodded his head.

…_if what he's saying is true…maybe this is it. This is the moment I've been waiting for…_

"Scott, do you remember when-"

"Two orders of Pad Thai?"

I looked up to see the waiter standing right besides our table with two plates of Pad Thai in his hands. I wanted to continue, but the look on Scott's face was undeniable proof that his mind was now set to his food. I sighed and closed my eyes. _I guess this wasn't the moment…but I will ask him. I have to. For me…_

"She ordered the less spicy one." Scott said to me as the waiter laid down my plate then gave Scott his. "Dig in Kim!" I shook my head as I picked up a fork and started to eat. "Hey, remember that time in high school where they tried to make Pad Thai and everyone that ate it ended up getting diarrhea?"

"Remember? How can I forget? YOU ate it…" I said to him, laughing at his past misery. "I told you that Pad Thai wasn't supposed to be that color!"

"I didn't know 'green' was a bad color to see in your food…"

* * *

"Is this going to become a regular occurrence?" I asked Scott, now covered in all the recycled newspaper I got from our bin and laying on our couch. Since he was still fighting with Ramona, he didn't want to try to go back home…and since Wallace, in essence, kicked Scott out of his place, he had nowhere to go.

"Oh, no way. This is nothing." Scott said as I walked over to the light switch. His response didn't make me feel good. In fact, I was hoping he would stay awhile…at least until I can talk to him at a personal level.

"Okay. I mean, cool." I corrected myself, trying not to sound desperate for his company. "Well…'night." I said as I flicked the switch off and started to head upstairs.

"Actually…can you do me a favour?"I stopped halfway up the stairs when he said that. I walked back down and turned on the lights.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I need your help with Ramona."

"You need MY help with Ramona?" I asked back to him as he started to crumple the newspaper blanket.

"Ramona won't talk to me. I was hoping that maybe you can call her to hang out and I'll _casually_ walk in and say hello." Scott said. I shook my head.

"Scott that's the oldest 'sting' in the book. Can't you come up with another way to…" I started but then I saw the look on his face. He wasn't doing the puppy dog eyes to me or a look to win my pity. It was the look of concern…the look to helplessness…the look of fear. Never, in the eight years I knew Scott, have I see him in such a worried state. I walked over to him and sat down next to him. "You really are concerned about your future with Ramona…" I said to him as he nodded.

"I just want to talk to her again…"

And there it was…any kind of hope that Scott and I would get back together…shattered in one simple line. There was no way that Scott would ever feel the same way about another person…and there was no way that he and I were ever going to be together. "You really love her don't you?"

"I do."

"….i'll help you Scott."

* * *

"Dude, I'm already tired of being cold." Ramona said to me as we sat in a small bakery near Ramona's place. "I need to move to the tropics or something." I picked up my cup of coffee and took a sip from it, keeping an eye on the time.

_Hope you get here soon Scott…_ "I always like winter best." I said to her, occasionally looking behind my shoulder to see if Scott remembered our plan. If he came in too late then he may not have come at all, but if he came too soon, then it'll look suspicious.

"Why am I not surprised?" Ramona said to me with a smirk. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"I don't know…dark, cold, Kim Pine liking the winter? Maybe it's the perfect season for you." She teased as I shook my head.

"Oh, so I'm guessing summer is your season because-" Just then I heard whistling…very obvious whistling. _Oh God Scott…too soon…_ My expression went from a pleasant, talkative friend, to an annoyed, emotionless person.

"Kim? Kim Pine? Fancy meeting you here!" Scott said as he looked at me. "Oh…_hey_, Ramona." Scott said as Ramona look at him in disbelief. But what's more, she looked at me then back at him in disbelief. I buried my face in my hands, knowing that this was going to be a very pathetic setup.

"Did he put you up to this?" Ramona asked me.

"Yes." I admitted as Ramona started to burst out laughing….hard.

"God. I can't believe that worked."

_Anyway…_

"Whatever happened to that guy you were seeing?" Ramona asked me as I rested my head on my propped hand and sighed.

"You mean Jason Kim?" I asked.

"You were dating that guy?" Scott said, a bit shocked by the news.

"I was."

"Didn't work out?" Ramona said, taking a sip of her coffee and putting it down.

"Well, he kind of had a..." I started, but didn't want to paint him a horrible person, so I chose my next word carefully "…tryst with my roommate."

"Hollie? Yeesh." Scott said as I leaned back in my chair.

"Yep. Behind my back. Now he's out of the picture, and Hollie's dead to me and, I mean her room is above mine, so …yeah. Awkward." I said.

"That sucks, Kim."

"Oh, whatever. I'm sure it happens to everyone all the time." I said, trying to be optimistic on my situation. _Ramona is being suspiciously quiet…wonder why. _I shot her a glance and notice something extremely off about Ramona. The area around her head was glowing…and not just glowing but REALLY glowing. She was looking between me and Scott, her eyes full of wonder and suspicion.

_What in the world is going on? Why is her head glowing like that? Wait…I remember seeing this before. But what does it mean?_

"Did I mention we had a sleepover? Me and Kim." Scott said as Ramona stared intently at him.

"Really."

_Dammit Scott! That isn't helping! If anything you're making it worse! _"He just slept on the couch." I quickly added but it didn't change her mood.

"That's cool."

"And the night before, I slept over at Wallace's!"

"Bed or couch?"

"I don't have to answer that-" Scott said really fast.

"Okay, at the risk of sounding insensitive, Ramona, what is up with your head?" I asked her, a little curious, but mostly annoyed by the glow her head was giving off.

"What?" Ramona said, a bit confused.

"Oh My God, you see it too?" Scott said to me. _Huh…I guess it wasn't my head messing with me like it normal does._

"See what?" Ramona ask, grabbing her own head and trying to see what's on with her head.

"Does this happen a lot?" I asked Scott, now only paying attention to him while Ramona frantically trying to see her own face.

"Just once in awhile."

"What's wrong with my head?" She yelled at us.

"It's glowing."

"Or something." Scott added

"Something is going on with it, definitely." I said, resuming my normal position of resting my head in my hands.

"My head is glowing? No. Nuh-uh."

"Uh. I'm afraid it is, actually." Her response to her head glowing spark an interest to my curiosity. She denied it, but she denied it twice. Does that mean that she knows that her head glows? It was a question I wanted an answer to but I knew now wasn't a time to get that answer.

"No. Scott's head glowed once. I saw that, but not mine." Ramona said, burying her head into the table. Again, another question that I would love to get the answer to, but first thing is first. First, Ramona has to see what's going on with her head.

"What? When?" Scott asked as I got up.

"C'mon Rammy." I said to her as she got up as well and we both headed to the women's restroom. As we got to the mirror, the light that was emitting from Ramona's head dimmed down and died by the time she was looking at herself in the mirror.

"Okay. Ha ha. Forget it. Trick of the light or something, right?" I said, but I knew full well what I saw. Scott saw it too, so there was no way it was trick lighting. Something was going on and I had a feeling that Ramona knew exactly what it was.

"Yeah…" She said as we both walked out of the restroom. I signaled Scott to follow as we walked out of the bakery.

"So are you going to Julie's party Ramona?" Scott asked as soon as we go outside. With all the stuff that was going on, I completely forgot about the party that Julie was hosting again. Truthfully I didn't want to go, but if Ramona goes then maybe I can get more information out of her about her head glowing…also to see if there is some way I can get Ramona to forgive Scott for being…well, Scott.

"I think you should come tonight." I said to her.

"I agree wholeheartedly." Scott backed me up. I shifted my eyes his way but then back at her.

"You guys don't even like Julie's parties."

"At least they give us something to complain about." I said to her.

* * *

_Later that night…_

"In retrospect…" I started as I stood off in the corner of the Julie's huge apartment. Everyone was crowding around the middle of the living room where Scott Pilgrim was engaging another one of the twin's robots. "…maybe we SHOULD stop coming to these parties. I definitely should have seen this coming…" I said to myself as I took a small side step, dodging the debris of a chair that Scott used on the robot. I scanned the area for Ramona but noticed that she was no longer in the room. I walked over to the door that leads to the balcony to see if she was smoking outside. To my amusement, Ramona was indeed smoking outside.

"Would you piss off?" Ramona yelled as I opened the door. "I'm sick of your crap!"

"Whoa, Ramona." I said, a little startled by Ramona's hostile words. "Settle down." Ramona turned her head and glared at me, her head once again glowing brightly. This took me by surprised, but this time I was ready. I flipped open my phone, aimed the lens, and took a snapshot using the camera on my phone. _Got it! Visual proof! Now maybe Ramona can shed some light on the situation…_

"Got it. Come on Rammy. You have some explaining to do…" I said as I took the hand of the distorted Ramona and lead her back into the main room, where we had to dodge Scott being punched through the air, and up to the rooms upstairs. Going into the first empty room, I sat her down and opened my phone, showing her the picture I took. Ramona looked at the photo and a good minute.

"What does it mean?" I asked her. She flipped the phone close and looked at me.

"No idea."

"Ramona, come on. If you can't tell me, you can't tell me." I said to her. I didn't want to force information out of her, but my curious mind wanted answers. "I won't be offended." Ramona scoffed as she picked up the fresh bottle of Jose Cuervo that she was holding onto and broke the seal on the cap.

"Okay…I can't tell you." She said bluntly before taking a swig straight out of the bottle. Ramona exhaled hard as she offered the bottle of tequila to me. I took it and looked down into the bottle, staring at the nasty golden liquid that rest in it.

_Urg…tequila…_ "What the hell." I said as I took a swig right out of the bottle as well.

"Is he okay down there?" Ramona asked as she plopped down on the bed. I exhaled hard, the alcohol killing every last taste bud in my mouth.

"C'mon." I said, coughing a bit. "He's Scott Pilgrim." I looked over to see that Ramona wasn't thoroughly convinced in my statement. "Alright. I'll go get him." I said, getting on my feet and walking out the door. I made it to the balcony where I saw the robot, now broken in three pieces, and Scott towering over it victorious. A smile crept on my face as I felt a little proud of him for taking care of that robot in record time. "What's up stud? Ramona's getting worried." I said to him as Scott looked up at me.

"Whoa! How'd you get up there?" Scott asked. The smile and respect I had for him at that moment turned into a scowl and disappointment. "Try the stairs."

_Twenty Minutes Drunker…_

"Hey Ramona…have you ever dated anyone who wasn't evil?" Scott ask as he, Ramona, and I were half way through the bottle and were now relaxing on the bed. "Not that fighting harder and harder battles for your love is getting old, or anything…" Scott said, trying to make it sound less jerk-y from his previous statement.

"Yeah, once. This guy Doug." Ramona admitted. "He was kind of a dick, though."

"Even your non-evil ex-boyfriend was a dick?"

"Well, he dumped me. Unceremoniously." She said as I took the bottle of tequila and took another swig of it.

_Ok…I think I'm at my limit now. If I drink any more I'm going to hit Junior-year-of-college Kim Pine and I really don't want to wake up like that ever again…_ "I've been thinking I should go back to school." I found myself saying, not really planning what I was saying but just allowing the alcohol talk for me.

"Oh, you totally should! I mean, so should I…" Ramona said as I looked over at her.

"We should go together. What will we major in?"

"Dating."

"Rugby?"

"Zoological anthropology!"

"Shopping!"

"T-Tequila!"

_A while more drunker…_

"You guys, seriously…" I said, tired, sleepy, but feeling very good. "…I seriously love you…"

"What time is it?" I heard Scott's voice. "Is it home time?"

"Shut up, Scott." Ramona's voice said, but I didn't pay much attention to it. Not like I can in my current state.

"I seriously wish I could…like…BE you, Ramona." I babbled. "I mean, you're so…y'know?" I felt a hand rest on my head and what felt like someone's head pressing up against mine. I could only assume it was Ramona kissing the top of my head.

"Kim Pine, where have you been all my life?"

"Make out!"

_A couple of minutes and some difficulty walking later…_

"Let's take subspace." Ramona said as she, Scott, and I walked arm and arm, holding each other up. "Kim, you should come sleep in our bed!"

_I really hope that wasn't an offer for something else…_ I thought as I looked over at Ramona. "Thank you. But if I do subspace right now, I will most certainly puke." I said as I lugged myself around and hugged both Scott and Ramona.

"Awwww." Ramona said in disappointment.

"I should go home, anyway. I can still get the last Bloor train…" I said as I started making my way to the train. "I'll see you two later!" I said to them as they shouted good-byes to me. After what seemed like twenty minutes, I found myself at the train station, looking down the tunnel to see if it was coming soon. I felt like there was something in my shoe so I held a pillar for support as I started to readjust my shoe.

…but something felt off. I looked around me. No one else was at the station. Not a single soul in sight. I heard footsteps coming from behind me but they didn't sound like one set of footsteps. It sounded like two.

"You've been here all along…haven't you?" I said, feeling the presence of Ken and Kyle Katayanagi right behind me. "Here at the subway station?"

"Cleaver girl."

_I don't have time for this…they have no business with me anyways. They probably want information about Scott and how to beat him. Just gotta zone them out for now until my train gets here._

"You stand behind him." I heard one of them say. I wasn't paying attention who was talking, I was too busy getting out my mp3 player so I can zone them out.

"No matter what." The other twin finished.

"He's important to you."

"Okay, you know what? Go finish each other's sentences somewhere else." I said to them, browsing my playlist. "You got no business with me." I said, putting my earphones in my ear. I felt a pair of hands grab hold of my shoulders. Suddenly I realized they didn't want information from me…

_Oh no…_

"I don't think we've been properly…introduced."

* * *

To Be Continued…


	12. Chapter 5c

Through My Eyes

By: Voice4TheMute

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley and other respectable parties. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and not to be sold anywhere.

A/N: Thanks again for reading my story! With the Scott Pilgrim movie hitting stores today (11/9/2010 if I end up not posting it on that day…) I just felt motivated to finish up the chapter so I can start brainstorming for the final chapter. So here's the last part of Chapter 5, please review the chapter as a whole. Thank so much and I'll see you all in Chapter 6!

Slowly approaching that 100k word mark. Truth be told, I was actually aiming towards that at the beginning of the story. Looks like I'll hit it in the end!

Updates on the story can be found on my profile page and I will update regularly.

* * *

"Urg…where am I…" I grumbled as I felt the cold ground underneath me. I didn't have the strength to stand so I propped myself against the wall. My head was pounding…it was unbelievably cold…and truthfully, it felt like I was still drunk from the night before. "The night before…" I said to myself as it all came back to me.

_The twins…_

That's when I realized where I really was. I was in a cage…suspended in the air in what looks like a construction building. My mind was asking so many questions about what I should do, but the hangover I was having was not helping. Each thought felt like needles going into my brain.

"Dammit…I must get out of here." I mumbled as I tried to get up again but fell back on my butt, causing the suspended chain to swing. "Oh God. That didn't help…" I said as I looked around. I noticed a window that wasn't finished yet and saw the street signs. I crawled to the end of the circular cage to see if I can read them.

_Come on…come on Kim. You're your eyes aren't that bad. What does it say…B-Bathrust? Baththirst? Bathurst! Bathurst and what…Queen? Queen and Bathurst? Where is that? _

I reached into my pockets and found my phone. Flipping it open, I saw that it was 4:36 am…and that I only had one bar of battery left.

_Oh no. No one would be awake by now…and calling someone will certainly kill my phone. I can probably send one text…but to whom?_

I knew the answer to this question immediately. Text Scott Pilgrim. The twins were his problem. He would certain come and save me as well as taking care of these crazy bastards. I quickly searched my address book and found Ramona's name. Since Scott didn't have his own phone, all text goes to Ramona.

_I really hope you get this text as soon as possible Scott. _

**To: Scott**

**Twins got me. In cage. Asst req. Const site Q+bath**

As soon as I hit send, the "Low Battery" message appeared on my phone and it instantly turned off. I laid back down on the cold steel ground, huddling close to say warm.

_Please Scott…please hurry…_

_Voice4TheMute Presents: Through My Eyes 005c_

I woke up once again in the cage at the construction site. My head was still pounding, it was still unbelievably cold, and I STILL felt a little bit drunk. I rubbed my head as I leaned back against the cage wall. "Why is this happening to me?" I bellowed loudly, not expecting anyone to answer. But then I heard them. The sounds of my captor's voices. Ken and Kyle Katayanagi. Ramona's exes…

"It's simple. You're here to get Scott Pilgrim here." I heard one of the twins respond as I looked through the bars. At the ground floor, the twins stood together looking up at my cage. I clench my fist, wanting to go down there and punch them both in the face. But in my current condition and my confinement…it would prove impossible.

"You guys have no idea. Scott Pilgrim will make short work of you two…" I started but they didn't listen to me.

"We know he'll come for you. He's important to you so that means that you're important to him." I saw the other twin say as I narrowed my eyes at them.

"You guys must be the most retarded kidnappers in the world. If you're going to kidnap someone to set a trap, kidnap the GIRLFRIEND not the EX!" I yelled at them but they laughed at my comment.

"Why kidnap Ramona? Ramona will give Scott the fire to fight. If we kidnap you, his motivation to fight will go down. You're important to him, but he will not fight tooth and nail for you." He said to me as I felt my heart sink.

…_it's true. What they're saying was strategically true. Scott will fight to save me, but if they kidnap Ramona, then he would fight with more ferocity and vigor to save her. I don't know if they know that Scott and Ramona were fighting…but if they did, then kidnapping her would give him more of a motive to save her…they really planned this out…_

"I'm no Ramona, but he will still fight to save me with as much-"

"Don't kid yourself. He's in love with Ramona Flowers, not you!" That statement felt like a hot knife diving into my heart.

"When Scott Pilgrim comes to save you, we'll take care of him. I hope you made your peace with him, because we will send him back to Gideon in a box." I heard Ken say to me as closed my eyes.

_Please Scott…please get here. It's cold…my head is pounding…all I want to do I just lay down in my bed. Please get here…_

…_I need to know that you still care for me…_

"KIM!"

My eyes shot open and I used all of my strength to look around. At the doorway, stood Scott Pilgrim. He looked tired, there was a swagger in his step, and he looked hungover, but he came, and it was all the visual proof I need.

_Give them hell Scott…_

"Kim? Where are you? Are you-OOF!" Scott exhaled as I saw one of the twins appear from a blind spot in the construction site and punched Scott right in the gut.

"Scott!" I yelled as Scott coughed before getting back up to his feet.

"That was a cheap shot and-AHH!" Scott yelled as the other twin came up from behind and punched him across the room. His body bounced off the ground and collided on the opposite side of the building.

_Dammit Scott. You should have known that the second twin would come up as soon as the first twin made an appearance. I know it's early, but get your game on. Your life…MY life depends on it!_

"What's wrong with you?" Kyle said to Scott as they slowly descended on his position. "Pick up the pace, Pilgrim." He continued to taunt as Scott slowly got to his feet, but saw him waver a bit.

"I dunno, man. I must be coming down with something." Scott said, holding his head trying to stay steady. Then it dawned on me.

"It's a hangover." I said to him.

"What?"

"A hangover, remember? Tequila?" I said to him, groggily. I remembered that Scott had just as much alcohol as Ramona and me. "Aaall that tequila."

"Whaaaaaat?"

"And welcome to the club." I mumbled as I rubbed my head, feeling my own hangover conquering over me.

"You show up to our battle hungover?" Kyle said, now angry. "Let us teach you some respect!" He yelled as he jumped up and threw a flying kick to Scott's head. Scott quickly reacted and blocked the obvious attack, but then a second flying kick from Ken connected in the back of his head.

_Scott!_

"And how is Ramona this morning?" Ken said as he landed from his kick. Scott was still trying to stagger to his feet as he looked back.

"She's fine, and you guys are cheating! I thought you were supposed to fight me one at a time!"

"Ha! Cheating is why we joined the guild in the first place." Ken yelled at him as Scott got back on his feet.

"You mean the league?"

"Whatever. We joined because Ramona cheated on us." Ken informed Scott, and also informing me.

"The two-timing slut." Kyle added.

_Ramona cheated on the twins? Has Ramona cheated on almost ALL of her exes? _

"She cheated on you? Seriously?" Scott asked, the look of uncertainly was spreading on his face.

"She played us against each other." Ken started.

"And since the day we discovered her treachery, we vowed always to work together!" Kyle finished as the clasped hands, forming a link with one another. Kyle whipped Ken around so they were back to back and they linked arms. And in one motion, they spun around, extending their legs and forming what looked like a double sided hurricane kick. They caught Scott square in the jaw and he flew across the room, hitting another side of the construction site.

"But…she-" Scott said, as he staggered back to his feet again. "I mean, I cheated, and she- why's she…"

"…A hypocrite?" Ken started but Scott interrupted him.

"You guys are trying to bring me down! I just have to defeat you and Gideon and then everything will be perfect!" Scott yelled at them. I saw his fighting spirit rekindle, but it was brief moment. After his statement, the twins attacked again. This time he was able to block both attacks from the twins, but it still seemed that he couldn't fight back.

_The conversation Scott and the twins had…something didn't feel right. Why say that everything will be fine? Did something happen? What do you mean that YOU cheated, Scott?_

"Did you and Ramona have a fight?" I asked Scott, seeing if that would answer some of the questions in my mind.

"Of course not!"

_That's a yes…_ "Damn it, Scott, you were doing so well last night…" I said as I hit my head against the prison bar.

"Did her head glow?" Ken asked as both Scott and I paid more attention. The twins somehow knew about the glow. What did it all mean?

"Of course not!" Scott yelled at them, avoiding a punch coming from Ken.

"You idiot!"

"What does the glow mean?" I asked, now watching the entire fight from my suspended cage.

"Can we talk about something else?" Scott yelled, trying to avoid the topic of Ramona.

"Let's talk about you liberating me from this stupid cage, alright?" I yelled back at him.

"No, Kim, something else Ramona-related." Scott said, avoiding more attacks from the twins.

_What the hell Scott? Do you want to hear about why Ramona's head was glowing or not! I'm sure that's pretty 'Ramona' related! Why talk about Ramona? She's doing fine. Fight to save me!_

"You know why Ramona came to this city, don't you?" Kyle asked as Scott caught his punch.

"She…got a job?"

"She came here to escape." Kyle informed him. I raised an eyebrow at that statement and asked the most obvious question.

"To escape from what?" I asked.

"Herself." Kyle said.

"Gideon." Ken added before simultaneously punching Scott square in the chest, sending him flying again.

"You guys are full of it." Scott said, trying to get up from that last attack, but he never go back to his feet. He stayed sitting on the ground with his back against the wall.

_Oh no…this is their trump card. Whether it is true or not that Ramona cheated on them, it is breaking down Scott's will to fight. They're creating doubt in Scott's mind…and it seems that it's paying off. Scott is starting to doubt his relationship with her and he's trying to find a reason to fight…_

"Stop listening to them Scott!" I yelled at him, but it seems my voice fell on deaf ears.

"If you dicks know so much, what was her last job?" Scott asked, trying to avoid the subject of her exes and Gideon. But the twins easily saw through his plan.

"I've been freezing my ass off in this cage all night! Ramona is fine!" I yelled at him again, trying to ease his mind so he can concentrate on the fight and not to get distracted by Ramona's past.

"She worked for Gideon, of course."

"And her services are missed."

"SAVE ME!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"She's done with that, you Japanese jokes." Scott growled, still trying to get up but collapsing back on the ground. "I'll show you how ancient of history it is!" He said as he managed to get back on his feet, only to be kicked straight in the stomach by Ken. I heard Scott exhaled as the wind got knocked out of him and collapse back on the ground.

_Scott…no…_

"You poor fool."

_Get up Scott!_

"Fighting for her."

"Scott…" I said, my faith in Scott fading by the second.

"Going through hell." Kyle started as Ken finished the sentence.

"All for the wrong girl."

_Scott is going to lose. He's lost the will to fight…Scott really can't fight with the same vigor as if he was saving Ramona. He really doesn't care that much for me afterall…_

…_I am no Ramona…_

…_he doesn't love me…_

…

…_no_

_It's not over. He can still fight!_

"Scott!" I said as my eyes widen. I had an idea. But I needed Scott's attention.

"You think she'd do this for you?"

"I wager she's packing her bags right now."

"SCOTT! I got a text!" I yelled, taking out my phone and flipping it. "IT'S FROM RAMONA!"

This got the attention of Scott as well as the twins. I looked into my phone but there was no text from Ramona. It could barely turn on. All that was on my screen was the "Low Battery" screen.

"She…" I started, trying to think of something inspirational to get Scott going. "She can't wait for you to come home. She believes in you." I saw Scott stare at me with hopeful eyes. He needed more. He was asking for more. "She just wanted to make sure you're alright, I mean against the twins, and I-I'm typing back- **C'MON. HE'S SCOTT PILGRIM.**" I yelled, now giving my support along with the imaginary support Ramona.

…and there it was.

The fire in Scott's eyes returned.

A fire that I've seen plenty of time…

…when he fought for me.

"Impossible, Ramona…" Kyle started, looking at his twin brother.

"…can change?" Ken finished, staring right back.

And with lightning speed, Scott shot up and kicked Ken in full force, making him collide with his brother and sending them both back to the opposite side of the building.

_GIVE THEM HELL SCOTT!_

Kyle and Ken were slow to get up, but they were now looking at Scott, their eyes suddenly filled with fear and terror.

"Gideon may have underestimated this one, brother." Kyle said as Scott stared at the two, his eyes fixed on both of them.

"I've got a message for Gideon, you identical turds…" Scott said as they both finally got up on their feet. "…he's next." Scott leaped towards the twins and simultaneously delivered both of his knees to the face of the twins, causing them to shatter into a thousand coins. I let out a sigh of relief as the coins shattered all over the construction site ground. It was finally over.

_Oh thank you Scott…thank you for defeating them…even though you weren't fully fighting for me…Now how the hell do you get me out of this cage?_

* * *

_After Scott solved the puzzle of the dangling cage…_

"I'm sorry you had to get involved." Scott whispered to me as was leaning against his body, my head buried in his chest.

"Whatever. It's cool." I said to him, taking in the warmth and comfort of his body. He may not have been fighting to me, but it was comforting to know that he still care enough to come at the break of dawn to save me.

"Are you okay?"

"I am so ready to hop in the shower." I said, trying to play off that this whole ordeal was nothing. "What about you? Are you gonna be okay?"

"One more asshole to go, right? I should really run home, though. Me and Ramona, we're-"

_That's right…Scott and Ramona were fighting. And I lied to him, putting words in Ramona's mouth to make it look like she's forgiven Scott, for whatever reason why they were fighting. _"Yeah. Of course. Go get her. Work it out." I said to him, almost a bit reluctantly.

"Thanks, Kim!" Scott said, immediately heading towards the exit. "You can get home on your own, right?"

"Yeah…sure…" I said, as he disappeared through the doorway back out in the street. I crossed my arms and huddled close to keep myself warm.

_This was a mistake…_

**What was a mistake Kimberly? **

"Coming back here…" I said as I turned around and started to head home. I walked out of the construction site and looked left and right, trying to figure out which was I should go to get home.

**It was your choice to come to Toronto. You wanted to see him again. **

"I did. It was my decision to move to Toronto. I did want to see Scott Pilgrim again…But that was a mistake. I shouldn't have come up here. It brought me nothing but pain and regret." I said as I walked down Queen Street. I felt a cold presence walk next to me.

**But you moved here because you thought Scott would take you back.**

"I did…"

**But he obviously has someone that he's willing to DIE for.**

"He does…"

**So that's it then? Scott is taken and you're going to move back? You're going to give up everything you have here to move back home? Your friends? Your job? The band? After all this time, you're just going to leave it all behind and give up?**

"…yes." I admitted and turned to look at my darker self.

But it wasn't her.

Walking right next to me was my younger self, dressed up in my old princess costume. The three chains that were around her arm and legs were floating in the air, not tethered to anything, but she still looked very uncomfortable.

"You're not…"

_**No…I'm not her. But you're just going to give up Kim? Even if Scott was taken, you still didn't get what you wanted out of Scott since you moved here.**_

"Scott is too dumb and dense to know what to do or say, even if I confronted him about it." I said to her, kneeling down so that she and I were at equal height. "There is no way that Scott will be able to give me what I want from him…"

_**But you now know what you really want from him. After all this time, you finally figured out why you're still here…why you moved here…the REAL reason…**_I saw my younger self dissipate in the wind as she finished her sentence and got back up. I sighed as I kept walking.

_Why I moved here in Toronto…_

…_the REAL reason…_

"…I just want closure." I admitted, looking up at the sky.

* * *

"Welcome to Second Cup! What can I-Kim! Hey!"

I mindlessly walked into Second Cup to get myself some coffee to officially start my day, but the person greeting me wasn't Stacy Pilgrim. It was Knives Chau, and she was way too perky in the morning, especially since she was with us at the party last night.

"Knives…I didn't know you worked at Second Cup. How are you so…awake?" I asked her, feeling like crap but Knives look super wired.

"Um. I don't know. I guess I didn't drink that much last night." She said to me, checking me out from top to bottom. "You look terrible. Did you pass out at Julie's place? Looks like you slept on Julie's garbage covered floor."

"…I guess that's one way of putting it." I said bitterly. "I just need black coffee. No room for cream. No need." I said, giving her my order.

_That's right…Knives Chau is one of Scott's exes. And by the looks of it, it doesn't LOOK like she's completely over him. But who's to say? She's been hanging around Stephen Stills for the longest time after Neil broke up with her. Maybe she's trying to sleep with all members of Sex Bob-omb. If I remember correctly…her first love was Scott, just like me…and she seems to be holding up well, unlike me. What's her secret?_

"Here you go Kim." She said as I gave her the money.

"Hey Knives? Can we talk? I mean, just for a little bit…" I said, as I remembered that she's working right now.

"Oh. Um…sure. This place is pretty dead in the morning anyways." She said as I looked around. Absolutely no one was here. I shrugged as I walked to the closet table and sat down. Knives came from behind the counter and walked to the table I was sitting at and sat down. "So what's up Kim?"

I took a sip from my black coffee and exhaled in delight. _That's the stuff…_ "I was actually hoping that I can talk to you about Scott." I said, expecting some kind of thrilled reaction by the mention of his name. But she just sat here. Her eyes widen a bit by my topic of discussion, but that's it.

"Alright. What's up with Scott? Is he ok?" Knives asked, a bit worried. I nodded and I saw her body relax a bit.

"Yeah yeah. Scott is fine. He's home right now with Ramona." I said to her. "I think they're fighting again."

"Again?"

"Yeah. Again…" I said. "Knives, I know this is a personal question, and if you don't want to answer then you don't have to. But are you still in love with Scott?" I asked her. There was a blank expression on her face as I asked her. I was expecting her to give me some kind of body reaction, but all she did was look down at the table.

"No."

"No?" I raised an eyebrow at her, a bit surprised by that answer.

"Well…it's complicated. I mean I don't hate him, but I don't love him either. He cheated on me afterall." She said to me.

"He cheated on you! …with Ramona?" I asked, quickly piecing together the puzzle that was scattered in front of me. Knives nodded as I took another sip of my black coffee. "I'm sorry Knives…I didn't know. Seriously…I didn't."

"It's ok Kim. I mean…I'm mad at him that he cheated on me. But for some reason…I can't fully hate him. I can put him in the category of 'People that I completely despise' if that makes any sense"

"I think that makes sense. So can you safely say that you're over Scott?" Knives couldn't answer right away. She really had to think about it.

"Maybe? I really don't know…" Knives said she looked down at the table. "My friend told me that time heals all wounds. She also told me that you always remember your first love…and your first break up. I'm sure I'll date other guys. But I guess Scott will always have a special place in my heart, regardless of what he did.

_I guess he does hold a place in my heart too…_

"Did you ever get closure on the relationship?" I asked her. Knives took some time to think about it before she shook her head.

_Her too…_

"I'm sorry Knives."

"It's ok. I mean…it's not like we stop talking to each other. We basically see each other every day so it's not like I need the closure. He'll always be around."

_I never really thought about it, but in a way Knives reminded me of myself back in high school. I though Scott would always be there for me. I can see him every day at class, eat lunch with him, come to him for help…but when he left, I found myself wanting that company. Wanting Scott to be there for me. Knives can see him whenever she wants now, but if Scott leaves…she'll end up like me. She will never the closure she needs._

"Don't you think you should at least talk to him about it?" I asked Knives. "I mean…get the closure that you deserve?"

"…I guess. But he's with Ramona right now. The last thing I want to do is complicate things."

"Heh, it's already too late for that…" I muttered.

"What about you Kim?"

"What?" I raised my eyebrow at her.

"Did you ever get closure from Scott when you guys broke up?"

I felt a wave of depression hit me as I looked at my cup of coffee. I didn't answer. And she knew what that meant.

"I gotta get back to work." She said quietly as she got up. "I guess we're both looking for the same thing, eh Kim?"

I nodded as I finished the rest of my coffee in silence.

* * *

"So you're really moving back home Kim?" Stephen Stills asked as he stood outside my door. I was already packing the things in my room when Stephen dropped by. "But what about the band?"

"Stephen, as much as I love Sex Bob-omb, I think it's safe to say that the band broke up a long time ago." I said to him, collecting the various nik naks on my desk and placing it in the box.

"Is this about Scott?"

"No." I lied. "I just need some…soul searching time. Some me time. Like a wilderness sabbatical. I need to clear my mind. Purge it of Scott and everything from the past. I don't expect you to understand…I just need your support." I said to him. He just nodded at me as I continued to pack.

"We're going to miss you Kim."

"I know."

"Are you going to come back?"

"I don't know…" I said, stopping for a second to look at the framed picture of the unfinished drawing of a sheep. "…maybe when I'm ready to come back."

"Well, if you need a place to say, you can always crash at my place. Your second home…" He started before looking around my room. "…third home away from home." I let out a small laugh as I picked up the framed picture and placed it with the rest of my things.

"Thanks for everything Stephen." I said, walking to him and hugging him. He rested his chin on the top of my head as he hugged me back.

"You're welcome Kim. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call." I released him and went back to packing.

"Have a safe trip Kim." Stephen said as he turned around and walked away from my room.

"Thank you Stephen Stills." I called out to him as I saw him disappear behind the door frame. A couple of minutes past before I heard someone knocking on my open door. I looked over to see Hollie standing in the doorway.

"Yes Hollie?"

"Heard you were moving back home."

"Yes…and?" I said to her as I turned back around and continued to pack.

"Is it because of me?" She asked. I shook my head as I picked up another framed picture and placed it with the rest of my things.

"No Hollie. It's for a different reason." I said. _Would you just forgive her already? You're moving away. The last thing you want to do is leave this poor girl with a guilty conscious for the rest of her life._ "Hollie…" I said, turning around. "…I forgive you." I saw her mood went from scared and depressed to shock and amazed.

"Really?"

"Really." I saw her sigh with relief before I turned around and continued to pack. "I didn't want to leave without making up with you so yeah…you are forgiven. And…I guess I should apologize to you too. You know, for being a bitch about the whole situation."

"Thank you Kim…you have no idea how much that means to me."

"So there you go. You are forgiven and you have my blessing. Go have fun with Jason. Not that you guys haven't been doing that. I mean…your room is right above mine so…yeah." I said as she started to get fluttered.

"Sorry Kim…"

"It's ok." I said to her. "…hey Hollie? I know I'm in no position to ask this of you, but can I ask for a favor?" This surprised Hollie but she nodded her head.

"What's up?"

"If…" I started, but then thought about it really hard. "…when I decide t come back to Toronto…do you think you can keep this room open for me?"

"I don't know Kim. I definitely need help with paying the rent…so I can't make any promises." She said to me. I felt a little disappointed as I closed a box and opened up another one to continue to pack. "But call me in advance. If it's open, it's totally going to you." I felt a smile spread across my face, but made sure that Hollie didn't see it. She was the last person I wanted to show that I, too, can be happy.

"Thanks Hollie. I appreciate it. Really."

"Safe trip home ok Kim? And if you need help packing, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you."

Hollie left the room and I was left alone to pack. As I packed my things, I occasionally found sentimental items that were laying around in my room: Sex Bob-omb's first gig poster, my first broken drum stick when I cracked it over Scott's head, the necklace that Scott gave me on our one year anniversary, my prom dress…

"Kim."

I turned around to see Stephen Stills in my doorway. There was a serious look on his face as he held his phone in his hand, still open, and screen still on. I laid my dress down and walked over to him. "What's up Stephen?"

"…Ramona left Scott."

* * *

**This is your chance…**

"I don't want Scott."

**This is your chance to get him back Kimberly.**

"I told you I don't want Scott. All I want from him is closure. An admission of guilt…an apology…" I said as I had a majority of my room already packed and labeled to be shipment. All that was left was my bed, my desk, and clothes for tomorrow. Stephen agreed to hold on to the drum set for now, but I plan to ship that back home…assuming that I decide not to come back. It was already dark outside and for the most part, I was set on going back home. The only thing that was holding me back was Scott…was her.

**Scott is finally single and you're telling me that you're not going to make your move? Why bother with an apology or closure when you can just get back together with him? Remember the good times with him in high school? The security…the attention…the love?**

"I don't want any of that. I just want to go home and leave all this behind me. Toronto, Sex Bob-omb, Scott, all of it." I said to her as I turn to face her. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and her blood red eyes staring right at me.

**So that's it then. You're running away?**

"I'm not running away…"

**What do you call all this then Kimberly? The boxes? The packing? Moving back home? You're running away from your problems! And let me tell you…you can run all day and all night but they will come back to haunt you. I can guarantee that.**

"I just need time to clear my head. I need to figure out who I am and what I really want. And the only way to do that is…"

**Is to run away?**

"…is to go back to my roots. Go back and start all over."

**You know better than that Kimberly. You can easily solve one of your problems…** She said to me as I looked at my phone. **…and he's just a phone call away.**

I walked to my cell phone and stared at it intensely. _Ramona left Scott…he might need someone to talk to. No. NO! What am I thinking? I can't just take advantage like that. She might have left him, but that doesn't mean that he gave up on her. He's probably looking for her right now…this fight is over. This fight has been over since Ramona came into his life…_

Just then I heard knocking from our front door. It was late and I wasn't expecting anyone to come to the apartment tonight. Regardless, I put on warm pajamas and walked downstairs to answer the door. I opened the door to see Scott Pilgrim standing there.

"Hey Kim."

"Hey." I replied back.

"How you doing?"

"I'm okay."

_Why is Scott here? It's the middle of the night and…oh. I think I get it. Scott needs place to crash…_

"Uh, this is kinda embarrassing, but, um, Hollie sold our couch." I said, looking over at the empty spot where the couch was.

"She what?"

"Yeah, I came home and it was gone. She sold it for rent money, I guess." I said, pitching my best guess of what happened to it. "It was her couch, so I can't really…say anything…" There was disappointed look on Scott's face as he looked at the snowy ground.

"Well…maybe I'll…uh…see you…at band practice?" Scott said depressingly as he turned around.

_For the love of God Kim, give the guy a break. His girlfriend just left him and you're throwing him into the streets. Have a heart for a guy that influenced 8 years of your life._ I sighed as Scott began to walk away. "Scott, wait." Scott instantly turned around and looked at me. "...I guess you can stay in my bed. But I swear to GOD if you move on my side of the bed I will punch you so hard in the mouth that your dentist will feel it."

"Thanks Kim!" He said, with that stupid smile on his face. I shook my head as I let him in.

* * *

_Well…this isn't weird at all…_ I thought to myself as Scott and I were on opposite sides of the bed, facing away from one another. _It's just a guy…who had a lot of history with me, laying right next to me…I'm sure fate is laughing at me right now_

"So why aren't you sleeping in Ramona's huge empty bed, again?" I asked him as I heard him shuffle in bed.

"I left my keys inside. I'm locked out."

_God dammit Scott. When will you learn…_ I turned my head over to see him still looking the other way. _I guess I should tell him. I didn't want to tell a lot of people…but maybe this is the last time I'll see him ever again. Maybe I can get that apology…or at least closure…_

"I think I'm gonna move back home."

There was no response from Scott right away. A full minute passed before Scott said something.

"Seriously?"

"Thinking about it."

Again silence from Scott.

_Come on Scott…don't you want me to stay? I don't want to leave…all I want is an admission of guilt…an apology for the world's crappies break up…_

"Do you know anything about cats?" Scott asked as she turned in bed to look at me.

"I know they smell like cat pee." I said to him, a bit disappointed.

"Cool, I'll make a note of that."

I sighed as I shook my head in disbelief.

_I can't believe I thought he would come out willing to admit he did something wrong. All he cares about is Ramona. She's the one that left him and HE is the one that's looking for HER cat? Talk about a one track mind…but the proof is undeniable…he fought the twins because they were her evil exes, not because of me…_

"I'm moving the day after tomorrow…" I said to him as I turned on my side, getting ready to fall asleep.

"What?"

"You know…if you wanna say good-bye, and stuff…" I told him as I slowly fell asleep.

* * *

_Dundas Street Coach Terminal. Around 5 PM…_

I stood outside with the rest of the people waiting for the bus to start boarding people. Jason Kim, in a last act of kindness and apology, drove me and helped me carry my luggage to the terminal. But sadly he was on the clock and couldn't stick around to watch me leave.

_So here I am…cold and alone at the bus station with no one here to watch me leave. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though. Only a handful of people knew I was going away. I'm sure word will spread quickly and they'll start spamming my phone. _

I looked up at the gloomy, winter sky. It threatened to snow today, but so far hasn't. It would have been one unmitigated disaster if it snowed and prevented the bus from leaving the station. Or maybe it's fate's way of telling me not to leave. But I knew I had to leave this place. Even if it wasn't permanent, I needed to leave. I need to figure out who I am, what I want, and where I wanted my life to go outside of the influence of Scott Pilgrim. Up to now, all my actions, all of my decisions where in some way Scott influenced. My best friend once told me that there was a Kim Pine before she met Scott Pilgrim…and I aim to find her once again.

"Now boarding!" I heard the conductor yell. I looked up and saw people start lining up for the bus that will take me to the station in my home town.

_I guess this is it…_ I used all my strength to lug both of my huge luggages up and waddle forward to get in line.

"KIM!" The sound of a familiar voice startled me so much that I actually dropped both of my luggages on the ground. I turned around to see Scott Pilgrim running towards me. I couldn't help but feel surprised and slightly taken back as Scott stopped in front of me, bent over with both hands on his knees and breathing hard. "Sorry I'm late Kim. I thought you were at a different bus station…"

"So you ran all the way here? To watch me leave?" I asked, still surprised that he's here.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be here?" I said, looking up at me. I felt embarrassed as he said that and quickly turned my head towards the bus.

"W-well….thanks for seeing me off. Can you give me a hand?" I asked, pointing at my luggages which now rested sideways on the ground. We both walked over to them and picked one up. Carrying one is easy, carrying both was a nightmare.

"Joseph actually made me a copy of the Sex Bob-omb album." I said to Scott as we waited in line to get in the bus. "Care you believe it's only seventeen minutes long? Month of work." I said, unable to believe that all of the songs that we ever wrote are only seventeen minutes long. Bands out there have single songs that goes on for six to seven minutes. But even though our band didn't play that many gigs, have that many songs, and didn't have that many fans, deep down I knew Sex Bob-omb was one of the best bands that I was a part of.

"We make concise statements." Scott said, shrugging his shoulders at my statement.

"I'll be listening to it approximately thirty-two times on the bus ride north, so I hope we don't suck too bad." I said to him as we made it to the front. I tried going forward to put my luggage in the bus but Scott made a motion for me to stop. He picked them both up with ease and brought them over to the storage underneath. Within seconds Scott came back to my side and looked at me with serious eyes.

"You'll be back right?"

This is the first time he asked that question to me ever since I told him I was moving back home. Maybe it was the reality that I'm here at the bus station that made him realizes that I was really going away, but it made me feel warm inside to know that it finally got through Scott's head that there is a good chance that I may not come back at all.

…and truthful I wasn't sure how to answer him.

"Yeah…sure." I said, as I walked towards the entrance to the bus. I felt my arm get tugged and I spun around to be greeted with a full body hug from Scott. It took me by surprise, but I returned the hug with all of its force. It's at that moment that I realize the impact of my decision. How it will affect everyone I knew.

…how it will affect Scott.

"Sorry about…everything." Scott said to me. Squeezing me tight. I felt my soul feel lighter by the sound of those words. It wasn't the apology that I was really looking for, but it definitely put me at ease. Afterall, it sounded like he was apologizing for everything that has happen that led me to the decision to leave Toronto.

"It's not your fault." I said as I broke away from the hug and walked to the conduction. I showed him my ticket and he checked my name off the list. As I took the first step of what I thought would be the first step of my new life, I heard Scott speak to me one more time.

"Sorry about **ME**!"

I stopped halfway up the bus. The words echoed through my head and it revitalized my body and soul to hear those words coming from Scott Pilgrim…like a breath of fresh air just filled my lungs. My soul broke free from the chains of hate and despair I had for Scott and suddenly…the memory of Scott leaving me in the park back in high school…

…the darkest memory I have of Scott Pilgrim…

…didn't feel so dark anymore.

I turned around and looked at him. His face said it all. He finally realized the mistakes he made. He finally owed up to what he has done. My last memory of Scott before I leave Toronto…it was very inspiring. In fact…it almost made me not want to go.

…almost.

"Apology accepted." I said to him, giving him a small smile before turning around and going up the bus. I walked to the back of the bus and sat by the window looking outwards. The windows of the bus were tinted so no one from the outside can see anyone on the inside. As the bus started to leave the station, I saw Scott watch my bus leave. I saw him just stare at it right as it left the station, almost looking at it longingly, hoping that it would stop and come back for him. But it didn't. It just kept driving straight, heading towards its destination of Northern Ontario.

…and Scott will never know…

…that I was staring right back at him the entire time as the bus left the station.

* * *

End of Chapter 5

There we go. The end of book 5! Thank you all for reading this long, difficult chapter! I say difficult because using the lines from the book actually limits what I can do with Kim since she's already on a pre-destined path. Book 6 only has 3 real scenes with Kim in it so it will allow me a lot of room to fill all the holes that I neglected to fill throughout the story (ie NegaKim, Little Kim…) and other answered questions (or at least I hope I answer them in the next chapter).

Special shoutout to paranoia456 for mentioning my story and mentioning my pen name again and again in his story. Appreciate it man. Go check out his Scott Pilgrim story. It's actually a very good read.

So I will see you guys in Chapter 6! Until next time…!

~Voice4TheMute


	13. Chapter 6

This story is dedicated to everyone who has been there for Kim since the beginning. May this chapter answer all the questions you have and the closure that you all deserve.

And to Kim...may you finally find the peace that you've been looking for.

~Voice4TheMute

* * *

"Kim? Sweetie?"

I heard a voice call for me through my headphones. I turned off my walkman and removed the headphones from my ears and rested them on my neck. I looked up to see my mom standing in the doorway of my room.

"Yes?" I answered as I reached off to my right and grabbed a bookmark for the book I was reading along with the music.

"Are you ok? How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine." I said bluntly, looking back at my book. It was a science fiction novel that I was forced to read back in high school. I decided to give the book a second chance, but it has yet to redeem itself from my personal list of boring books.

"Oh. Well, do you want to come with me to the nursery? We're going to pick out a tree for the backyard." I heard her say, but I was already reopening my book and picking up from where I left off.

"No, thank you…" I said mindlessly as I continued to read, slowly shifting my attention from my mom to the book.

"Well, we're also going to the mall afterwards. Do you want to go pick out a new sweater or something?" I heard her said. I didn't respond. I just shook my head as I continued to read. "Maybe we'll get lunch as well. Find a nice Italian restaurant. You like Italian right?" But again, I shook my head. I heard her sigh and I looked up just in time to catch her turn around to leave my room. "…it's been four months Kim. Four months. Please go out and meet people…" She said, in a worried tone as she left and closed my door.

_It's been four months already…and all I've done was finish eight books, listen to the same CD over and over, and gone on nature walks. I guess this is me. The true me…a boring, uneventful girl. But I guess it's a good trade off. No drama, no problems, no worries. Best of all…I haven't heard her voice in a long time…_

I turned on my walkman again and placed the headphones on my ears as I began to indulge in the music and the book. The only thing that was missing was drum practice. But I knew that once I call Stephen Stills for my drums, all those problems will slowly come back. I didn't want to cut all of my friends off like this…but it's the only way I could completely forget the past…and him.

"Kim! We're leaving! Are you sure you don't want-"

"I'm sure!" I yelled as I removed my headphones and placed them on the bed. I listen for the front door to close before jumping out of bed and looking outside.

_Looks cold outside…but at least it's a clear day. I guess I should go out for a walk. Clear my head a bit…_ I walked over to my closest and put on my heavy coat and pants. It was a mind grinding routine that I did day after day that I didn't want to break. Things were simple this way…read my book, listen to music, go out and walk around a bit, sleep. My days were predictable…no surprises…no problems. As I left my room, I still could still hear the music playing from my walkman. I would have gone back to turn it off, but the batteries were about to die anyways. I might as well let them run out of juice…

…let it play that last Sex Bob-omb song.

_Voice4TheMute Proudly Presents…_

* * *

_It's hard to believe that I left Toronto four months ago. I guess it's amazing how time flies when life isn't throwing curve balls at you every day. It's a nice change of pace from the hectic life I lived for eight straight years but some days it feels mundane…but I'll gladly accept monotonous routine than behind haunted by my own self every day. _

…_still…I do miss those guys…_

…_sometimes him…_

"What am I thinking?" I said to myself as I continued to walk the same path I walked everyday that lead up to a forested area where I came to sit and think. It wasn't too deep in the forest, but it was deep enough and high enough for people not to find. I don't know why I keep coming to this spot. Maybe I thought inspiration will hit me or I'll have an epiphany of what my true calling is in life… either way, I came here every clear day to just sit and watch the time go I got to my plot of land, I sat down and looked outward deeper into the forest.

_Four months…I wonder how they're doing. I hope Hollie and Joseph are doing alright with the rent. If Hollie had to sell the couch, who knows what else she sold. Maybe they found a third roommate already. Maybe its Stephen Stills…no. Then what will Young Neil do? Maybe Scott can move in with-_

I stopped my train of thought as soon my mind came across his name.

"What am I thinking…" I said to myself, rubbing my eyes. "I came here to get away from all of them, not to reminisce. Stupid mom…telling me how long it's been. It's none of her business what I'm doing with my life." I sighed and looked at the ground. "But still…it has been awhile. I wonder how they're doing. I wonder how _he's_ doing…"

**Why not call him?**

That voice sent chills down my spine. I haven't heard that voice in four months. I knew that once I start thinking about them…more specifically, about him…_she_ would return.

**I mean…he's just a phone call away. All you need to do is pick up your cellphone, dial the number, and hit send.**

"I knew you'd be back…" I said aloud as I looked over my shoulder. There, leaning up against the trees was my darker self. Her eyes were still blood red as I remembered them and a mischievous smile was spreading across her face.

**You can never get rid of me Kim…**

"I wouldn't say that. Afterall, I had the most peaceful four months of my life."

**But your life is booooorinnnnng.** She stretched out as she came over to where I saw sitting and sat down next to me. I looked away from her and averted my attention to the grass on the ground. **It's the same thing over and over and over again. Wake up, eat, read, listen to music…**

"My life finally has order…"

…**you would listen to the same CD over and over again. The last remnants of your life back in Toronto. Surely you could have picked another CD to listen to. But no…you've been listening to the Sex Bob-omb album for over four months. Here you said you were going to forget the past, but I know you…you couldn't escape. **

"My life was fine until YOU showed up!"

**You can't escape the life that you made in Toronto. No matter what you do, no matter what you say, you can't escape.**

"Just leave me alone already. Go back to what you were doing for four month will you?"

**Ever since you got back to your parent's place, you WANTED to come back. You wanted to return to Toronto and see him again. The anger that you had for him…the hatred that you felt for him…it no longer exist, right Kim?**

I didn't say anything. What she was saying was true. After his apology at the bus station, my feelings for Scott and my grudge against him was gone. I was able to move on and see Scott as a friend…maybe even see him as one of my best friends. Though he is still dumb and dense…I would still consider him one of my best friends I have.

**He probably misses you Kim. He ran all the way from the wrong station to see you off at the station. He watched your bus leave…you should really give him a call.**

"How am I going to give him a call if he DOESN'T have a phone?" I yelled at my darker counterpart. "If you were paying attention, Ramona LEFT him and he MOVED out of Wallace's place! There's no way to call him! …I'm not even sure where he's living. Maybe's he's living on the streets…"

**There is one person that knows…** I heard her voice trail as she slowly disappeared. I watch her vanish in plain sight and reached into my pockets for my phone. I took it out and flipped it open.

"Great…now I'm worried if that idiot is still alive…" I said to myself as I opened my address book and started to look through the list of names. "I know I ignored all your calls before, but I pray that you'll answer your phone now." I said to myself as I found the name I was looking for. I press the send button and placed the receiver to my ear.

_Come on….Come on…answer…_

"Hello?"

"Hey! ….Stephen?"

"Kim? Wow. It's been awhile. So you're finally returning my ten calls?" I heard Stephen Stills voice on the receiver end of my phone.

"I'm sorry Stephen. I just wanted to stay in a Toronto blackout. No contact from Toronto, no contact to Toronto. So I apologize." I said to him, bringing my legs close to my body to keep warm.

"I guess I understand. So what's up Kim?"

"…I was wondering if you know where Scott is. Is he living somewhere?" I asked, a bit unsure if I really wanted to ask that question.

"You want to know where Scott is?" Stephen asked, a bit surprised by my question. "Well…he actually has his own place now."

"He has his own place?" I said, no expecting that from Scott Pilgrim. I know he had a job…but to afford his own place? That was mind blowing.

"Well, his parents help pay for it…or all of it. I don't remember."

"Oh…that makes more sense…"

"Either way, I have his home phone number. You know, if you want it." He said. I stayed silent. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to open the door I closed four months ago. Do I really want to go back and open communicates with him again? "Kim? You still there?"

"Huh? Sorry. I got distracted. What did you say?"

"Do you want his home phone number?" Again, I paused, but I manage to squeak out a 'yes' at the last second. "Alright Kim, but I gotta tell you, he's still depressed about the whole 'Ramona' thing. Not sure he'll be willing to talk, but I'll text you the number."

"Thank you Stephen…"

"…and Kim? Please take care of yourself." He said to me as I said bye and hung up the phone. Within seconds, my phone vibrated, indicated I got a text message. I flipped it open and saw the seven digit phone number on my screen.

_This is it…Am I really going to call him and essentially void the whole reason why I came back home in the first place? I wanted to get away from my life in Toronto. I wanted to get away from Sex Bob-omb, my friends, my crappy job…from Scott. I wanted to discover who I was outside from all that. _

I slowly redialed the number that Stephen texted me and hovered my thumb over the call button.

_Maybe this is who I am outside of Toronto…A boring, monotonous girl who doesn't think about the future and fails to acknowledge the past. _

My thumb rested on the call button, but no pressure was made to press down.

_My life IS boring without those guys…_

_...without my friends…_

…_without Scott._

I pressed the button and quickly pressed the phone against my ear. The phone rang. It rang again. Each of those rings got me more anxious and more worried that Scott could answer at any moment. As the phone continued the ring, I could feel the stress and anxiousness pile up, shortening my life for each second that pass. But then, the ringing stopped. My eyes widen. My grip on my phone tightened as there was a moment of silence. Then I heard it…

"_Ok…let's see. Press the 'outgoing message' button and wait for the red blinking light. Where the hell is…oh, is it recording now? Dang it!"_

I felt myself relax as the voice coming out of my phone was a recording of Scott's voice. Scott didn't answer. I got his answering machine.

"_Uh. You reach Scott Pilgrim's..um place? Please leave your…uh. Shoot. What was my line? Where is that piece of paper? There it is! Let's start that again. You reach Scott Pilgrim's…"_

The recording was cut off and there was a tone that followed the message.

"Hey, it's Kim." I said, hesitating a bit as I tried to think of something to say. But no matter how hard I thought, I couldn't think of anything appropriate to say without sounding sad or desperate for his company. "I just saw a guy with a parka exactly like your stupid parka you've had since you were twelve." I said, recalling an incident where I though Scott came to Northern Ontario. When I approached the guy, it was someone completely different. But it was a memory that stuck with me for awhile. "That's literally the most interesting thing that happened all week." I said, feeling more anxious and more frustrated at Scott. "It friggin' sucks up here." I said to the phone in one breath. "Get over your extremely boring depression and come visit me sometime, assclown." I said as I closed my phone and looked at the front display. The number on the display said that the call lasted one minute and ten seconds. I continued to stare at my phone long after the blinking message went away.

_Oh God...I hope I didn't do something I'm going to regret later…I don't know what I would do if he DID show up…_

_A story based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim"…_

* * *

"Thank you for the food…" I mindlessly said to my parents as I got up from dinner the dinner table and brought my plate to the sink. It's been over twenty-four hours since I called Scott and I have yet to get a response from him.

_Maybe the number Stephen gave me was wrong? …No. Scott's outgoing message said he was Scott Pilgrim. Maybe it's a different Scott Pilgrim? Probably not. What the hell am I thinking? Why would I want him to respond? It's not like I asked him to call me back. I just asked him to come visit me sometime… that assclown. _

I washed my dishes and went back to my room. I sighed and walked to my computer and turned it on.

_I got e-mails from Stephen, Hollie, Jason sometimes, even one from Knives…but so far no e-mails from Scott or the missing Ramona. What did this all mean? Do they even care? Ramona I can understand. She doesn't even know I left Toronto…but at least one e-mail from Scott. I guess Scott really don't care…_

I heard loud knocking from the front door, but I figured mom or dad were going to answer it.

_For all the years I known him, this is how he shows concern for my well-being…_

The knocking persists but I ignored it again.

…_a farewell at the bus station and I'm out of his mind forever. I guess I was hoping too much…_

Again, the knocking continued and it was starting to annoy me.

…_I guess I should have known Scott wouldn't try to stay in contact with me…_

The knocking became more rapid and louder that I turned my head and yelled through my room, "WILL SOMEONE ANSWER THAT!" There was no response from my parents. They were probably watching movie after dinner. They like to do that every Friday night. I sighed as I got up from my chair and walked out of my room, heading towards the door.

_I swear…if this is a solicitor or some traveling salesman, I'm going to shove whatever they're trying to sell right up their…_

"Hello?" I said in an annoyed voice as I opened the door. There, standing in the doorway with his fist in the air from knocking, was Scott Pilgrim in his blue parka with a big backpack on his pack. My eyes widen as Scott stared right into my eyes. I wasn't sure what to do. I wasn't sure what to say. I just stared back at him as he lowered his hand.

"H-Hey there Kim…"

_Through My Eyes 006_

"Hey Scott…" I said back to him as we continued to stare at each other. "Um, do you want to come in?" I said, finally moving away so that Scott could walk into the house. He nodded as he walked in and looked around.

"Thanks Kim. Wow…this place hasn't changed much since high school." He said as he continued to rotate in place and look at every corner of the house and hallways. I slowly closed the door and locked it.

"Scott…what are you doing here?" I asked at my gaze was still fixed at the front door.

"Um…I came here for you."

"What?" I said, a bit surprised by his answer.

"Uhhh…I mean Wallace Wells sent me here. He put me on a bus and told me to go on a wilderness sabbatical or something…" He said, scratching his cheek. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why do you need a wilderness sabbatical?"

"I don't know. Wallace forced me on the bus. I didn't want to go. I mean, I don't want to fight him! I have no reason to!" Scott said, waving his arms around. I gestured him to calm down.

"Ok! Ok! Calm down. Fight who, Scott?"

"Gideon…"

"Gideon? Ramona's last ex?" I asked. Scott didn't answer. He just looked down at the ground, almost in shame. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "Scott…did you run away from the fight?" Scott looked up at me and we made eye contact. And I could see everything that was running through Scott's head.

_Oh my God…he did run…_

"Well, I-"

"Scott? Scott Pilgrim is that you?"

Both Scott and I turned our heads to see my mom standing at the end of the hallway. I closed my eyes and slapped my hand on my forehead.

"Oh no…" I sighed as my mom, and soon my dad walked over to Scott and started to engage him in conversation.

"Hi Scott! It's been awhile. How are you?"

"Yes. How are things back home?"

"Well…I-"

"How's Stacy? How old is she now, like 21?"

"Uh, I think she's-"

"Good lord, my boy, it's late. What are you doing here at such a late hour?"

"I was hoping I could say here for a night!" Scott yelled out fast so that he couldn't get cut off by my parents. My parents, even I, were staring at Scott in disbelief. Was that the real reason why he's here? He wasn't going to sleep at a motel or anything like that? He's here to crash here?

"…or two." Scott continued. I looked over at my parents, but they were already looking at me then at each other.

"Of course, Scott. The only available space is in the basement though. It does get a bit cold down there. Kim will bring down blankets for you." I heard my mom said but I stared at her with cold eyes.

"Come with me Scott, I'll show you the way. Kim, go get the blankets in our room. You must be tired from your trip." My dad said to me as I shook my head in disbelief.

"I am a little tired…" Scott replied.

"I can't believe this is happening…" I said as I walked in the opposite direction of where my dad and Scott were going. I mean, for the love of God, he's my ex, mom and dad! This isn't weird at all! I turned around to catch a glimpse of Scott walking with my parents, bombarding him with questions that he couldn't answer fast enough. I didn't feel spiteful of Scott or angry at him like I did back in Toronto. Maybe it's because of his apology or his spontaneous act of showing up in the middle of the night but I was actually happy that he's here.

…of course I would never admit it out loud.

* * *

_The Next Morning…_

"Sleep okay?"

"That's one hell of a basement, eh?"

"Um…" Scott muttered as we all sat at the dinner table eating breakfast. The barrage of questions didn't stop from last night. They literally walked down to the basement with him and kept asking him questions all night until he fell asleep. I couldn't even get a chance to talk to him.

"More coffee? How's your mother?"

"Mom stop…" I finally spoke up, but they just kept asking questions.

"So are you seeing anyone, Scotty?" My mom asked as I stared at her. How she thought that was an appropriate question to ask was WAY beyond me. Especially since she knows about our past relationship and how it ended.

"Jesus mom. Let him eat his eggs." I quickly said to her, now being the one that cut off people before they can answer.

"Don't mouth off to your mother, Kim. That's my job." My dad replied. I sighed and took a sip of my coffee.

"Please excuse my parents. I don't think they were born morons, but…"

"Look at her. Ask her what she's doing here Scott." My dad interjected again. I guess this family is famous for just cutting people off in conversations.

"Um…" Scott mindlessly replied as he continued to eat his eggs. I finished the rest of my breakfast and stood up.

"Thank you for breakfast mom. If you will excuse me, I'm going to go for a morning walk." I said aloud, hopefully Scott will pick up on my hint. Scott looked down at his full plate then back at me. I stared right back at him as he finally took the hint and scarfed down the rest of this food.

"Thak ou fo the food misr Pine." Scott said, mouth full of eggs and coffee as he got up and followed me out of the kitchen.

"Meet me outside. I'm just going to change to something a lot warmer."

I quickly went to my room to grab my coat, boots, and sunglasses. It wasn't sunny outside but the old saying goes that the eyes are the windows to a person's soul…and the last thing I want to do is let Scott peer into my soul. I walked out of the house and locked the front door.

"Yeah, so, life. This is it." I said to him as I started to walk towards the forest. "Amazing I know." Scott quickly followed right beside me as we followed the path that I've been walking for the past four months. After five minutes of walking, Scott finally broke the silence.

"So what are you doing up here?"

"Scott," I started, not wanting to look at him, "Last I checked, you continued to not be my mom."

"I mean, are you going to school, or…?" Scott started but I shot him a glare, reemphasizing that he is STILL not my mom so it was none of his business. "Wait, what is this? Where are we going?" Scott asked me as he looked around. I guess he finally noticed that the concrete path that we were walking on turned into a dirt path away from the houses.

"You want a wilderness sabbatical, you're gonna get the real thing." I said to him. I knew where I wanted to take him. If he wanted to get emerged in all of nature, then there is no better place than my special clearing in the forest. Besides…it's not like he'll remember where it's located. His short term and long term memory is terrible. I'm surprised he remembers his own birthday. As we walked off the dirt trail and now following my own path, I occasionally looked back and saw Scott looking around at all the trees and bushes. There was a level of fascination and curiosity in his eyes…almost as if he's never gone hiking before…

"Up the rocks Scott, let's go." I said to him as I climbed up a rock formation and looked back, seeing that he was struggling to pull himself up. I sighed and turn around, kneeling down and extending an arm to help pull him up. "Come on Scott. For the best fighter in the providence, you're lack upper body strength."

"Don't blame me. I never played any rock climbing games!" He said to me.

"What?" I said, very confused.

"Nevermind." I pulled Scott up and we continued on. We leaped over a river and weaved through the trees until we hit the part where the path started to incline slowly. As we started to climb up, I could hear Scott's footsteps get louder and more frequent. It indicated that he was getting excited.

"It feels like we're alone in the world!" Scott yelled really loud. His voice carried and echoed throughout the forest. "No grown-ups! It's like 'The Tribe'!"

"Scott we are grown-ups". I reminded him, suddenly feeling how old I really am. "And I have no idea what 'The Tribe' is."

"I don't think I'm ready to be a grown-up." Scott said to me as I started to get winded.

"I don't think you are either, buddy. But hey, you'll get it." I said to him as we both climbed up the final rock face. "It just takes practice." We finally made it to my secret spot and I sat down.

_Here we are… this is the spot. I don't know why Scott is on this wilderness sabbatical…I don't even know why Scott is really here. He said he ran away from Gideon. Does that mean that he's still fighting for Ramona? It's been months Scott…you can't tell me that you're still fighting for her love. She's no longer with you…_

"Thanks for coming." I said to him as I reached up and took off my sunglasses. "I've been going a little bit crazy up here." I said to him, summing of all of what happened two days ago when my mom mentioned how long it's been since I moved back. And truthfully I was going a bit crazy. I did the same routine over and over like clockwork. The thing that was crazy was that I was ok with it.

"What are you doing here, Kim?" Scott asked me again. I sighed as I thought about it. The truth was…I wasn't really sure WHAT was I doing here.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out." I said to him as we both sat there in silence. This was nice. It's been a long time since Scott and I spent time together. Sure, there were those times back before Knives came where we would chat about stuff, but nothing compared to this. It was just him and me, alone in the forest. It was nice just sitting here, even if neither of us was talking. I missed his company, even more now that I didn't hold a grudge against him. Hell, I maybe miss his company even more now that I know Ramona left him. I looked over and gave him a small smile, something I haven't done in a long time. And it was a genuine smile. No sinister motives…no plotting of revenge…just a smile of appreciation.

What happened next was something I was not expecting…

Scott leaned over to me and kissed me.

My eyes shot open as I felt his lips pressed up against mine. My mind went blank. I was unable to think. All I know is Scott is kissing me and he didn't pull away. He slowly started to give me soft, tender kisses. The look of shock that was on my face…

…the feeling of being taken by surprise…

…slowly melted away.

My eyes drooped as I felt a surge of emotion and affection fill my body like a tidal wave as I started to return Scott's soft kisses. Each one of his kisses made my body feel warm and for every kiss I returned, he gave me three more. I leaned into him as our small kisses turned into a passionate making out session that I never wanted to end. For once, in a long time…I felt at peace. I reached up and grab hold of his blue parka as I pulled him closer to me. Each second I was with him…

…each kiss he gave me…

…each kiss I returned…

…it made me want him more.

It made me want to start things over with Scott. Rekindle the relationship that we had. Rekindle the life that I had when I was back in high school. Rekindle the time in my life where being with Scott made me happy…

…and then it all came back.

High school…

…Lisa…

…Simon…

…Scott…

…the troubles we faced, the obstacles we had to overcome, the people that we hurt, the pain we put our friends through, the drama that we caused between us…it all came back to me.

_No…what are you doing Kim? This isn't going to work! Stop kissing him! PLEASE! STOP KISSING HIM!_

_No…_

_NO….!_

"**NO, Scott!**" I yelled as I shoved Scott away from me. It was Scott's turn to have the look of surprise on his face.

"What?"

"…we can't." I said to him as I stared right into his eyes. My heart was pounding and I was still trying to catch my breath and calm myself down.

"Why not? Why about-" Scott started as he stared right back into my eyes. I couldn't handle it. I could feel my soul cringing in pain as he kept eye contact with me. I quickly reached for my sunglasses and put them on. Even though I had my glasses on and was looking away from him, I could still feel his gaze on me. His painful gaze…his longing gaze… "Haven't you been there for me this whole time?"

"What? Excuse me?" I said a bit confused.

"Things were always so complicated with Ramona. You're so, like, uncomplicated…you've been the one constant in my life." He said to me as I continued to look away from him, "Doesn't it make sense?"

"Uncomplicated?" I said, rather annoyed by that word. "Don't you remember high school? It wasn't all cute move-romance junk, Scott." I said to him as the vivid images of high school were now filing my mind...and they weren't the good kind of images…they were bad ones that you wanted to forget. I tried to think of the good times that we had…but all that was coming to mind were the drama-filled, hate-filled moments. No relationship is perfect…and we were no exception.

"We were high school sweethearts. But I had to move away."

"Are you **kidding**? You didn't even tell me you were leaving!" I yelled at him, gripping the top of my head in frustration. "I heard it from Lisa! I didn't talk to her for a month after that!" I sighed as I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes. "Not to mention you screwed over poor Simon Lee…" I said as the horrible images of Scott beating Simon into the ground popped in my head. My back was turned away from the fight so I didn't see it, but hearing it from behind…it's probably a lot worse than actually seeing it.

"_Simon I want to break up. It's not going to work out…"_

"…_what?"_

"_There's another guy…"_

"_Kim! Let her go, Simon. I've defeated all your evil bosses. You're finished!"_

"_Took you long enough…"_

Then the image of Simon's face flooded my mind. The expression of sorrow….lost of hope…the will to live…forever burned in my memory. I caused that. That was all my fault. And there was nothing I could do to make that memory go away.

"…well we both did, but the look on his face…"

"Simon Lee?" Scott said. "But…he was a bad guy."

"Simon Lee? The Chinese kid? I was _dating_ him, Scott. I think he hugged me once." I said, recalling my entire relationship with Simon. Truthfully, the relationship wasn't really based on physical attraction. Maybe it was all academics. It made perfect sense that the two smartest in the class would end up together. But there was no real physical relationship. It is why I found myself being attracted to Scott in the first place. He paid real attention to me…even after geography class and beyond. I curled up in a ball, feeling very exposed at the moment. I just opened my heart and soul to a guy that I thought, back then, I was going to spend the rest of my life with…only to realize that I really didn't want that after all. All I really wanted was someone to care about me. I glanced over to Scott, hoping to continue the conversation but then I saw it.

Scott's head was glowing.

"Scott…" I said, very surprised that his head was glowing just as bright as Ramona's head four or five months ago.

"Forget it, okay? Forget I said anything" He said, almost mindlessly. "Let's forget the whole thing." As he said that, his head began to radiate more light. It was so bright that I put my hand up to block some of the light.

"Y-your head…" I said as I reached for his head, seeing if it's a physical glow or some kind of spiritual glow.

"I'm fine! Let's move on, already!" Scott shouted as he jumped on his feet. I pulled my hand away from him as I continue to stare at his glowing head. "Let's go!"

"Scott, I'm sorry." I apologized, hoping that the glow would die, but nothing I said to him was getting through. "Calm down." Suddenly, Scott's oblivious gaze turned into a glare as he stared directly at me.

"Dude…" I said, slowly getting up, almost ready to run away if he were to come at me. Whatever was happening to him, whatever was possessing him right now…I didn't want to be in the way. His glare intensified as he started to charge at me.

_Oh God! Scott! Don't…!_

But he didn't charge at me. He actually charged passed, heading towards the tress behind me. He was running at something. He wasn't just running at a tree, but at someone else…something that has caught his attention.

"It's the NegaScott!" Scott yelled as I looked over to see who he's yelling at. To much of my horror, I saw a figured that looked like Scott, but a darker version of him…a version that I'm too familiar with. It looked exactly like Scott: same clothes, same hair, same wristbands, the only difference was the blood red eyes that he possessed.

_It can't be. Is that MY darker self as Scott? Or is Scott being haunted by his own dark self. What does this mean? Who are these people? Why are they always out to make out lives difficult?_

But what surprised me more was what came next. A Scott charged at his darker self, the NegaScott manage to land an elbow to the jaw of Scott, sending him flying back in the direction he came. My eyes widen as I realized that HIS darker self is able to hurt him…KILL him even.

_Why is he here? He's here for a reason right? My darker self comes whenever I think about Scott…maybe it's the same for him. Think Kimberly! What happened before he starting charging at…_

"_Forget it, okay? Forget I said anything. Let's forget the whole thing."_

_Oh my God…is that it? Are you trying to forget something Scott? Are you trying to forget the past? _

"You can't keep living like this, Scott!" I yelled at him, hoping he would come to terms with his past. If he does that, maybe that dark presence goes away. It was a long shot, but it was better than nothing.

"Leave me alone!" Scott yelled at me as he got back up and charged again. "I just need to kill him…so I can forget her…" He closed the distance between him and NegaScott and threw a wide right hook. "…and **move on**!" But his wide right hook was way too wide. NegaScott skillfully countered his attack with an uppercut that sent him flying in the air.

_Is that what it is? You're trying to forget about Ramona? Ramona is part of the past now. Whether you like it or not, she is now a part of your past. You can't simply erase that from your mind! You can't just pretend that never happened!_

"But if you keep forgetting your mistakes, you'll just keep making them again!" I shouted at Scott as he flipped himself around in midair and sent a flying downward kick to his dark self.

"I don't care! It's better than having to live with myself!"

It is then I realized that Scott and I had something in common with our darker selves. We are both haunted by the past.

_His is more recent and is more of a physical ghost where mine has been manifesting over the years and has taking a mental form. They pester, bug, and even taunt at us, gently reminding ourselves of the things we want to forget. For Scott, it's Ramona…for me…_

"Everything you've done wrong is just gonna keep following you around, Scott!" I shouted at him, trying to get him to realize that what's he's doing…forgetting Ramona, forgetting the past…is wrong. Scott landed the kick to the sternum of NegaScott and they both got knocked off the high ground and started rolling down the hill. I did my best to navigate down the hillside without completely falling down it. "You've got to hold on!" I yelled as I watched the two continue to roll down the hill. They finally met at the bottom, but NegaScott was the one that pinned Scott down.

_Come on Scott! Fight! You have to win! You have to show me it's possible to win! This isn't just your fight that you're fighting for! This is my fight as well! You have to show me that I, too, can fight my ghost!_

"Otherwise-"

NegaScott held Scott down with his left hand and rose his right hand in the air, ready to deliver a devastating blow.

"OTHERWISE-"

The grin on NegaScott's face grew as he held Scott down. He knew he had him pinned. It was all over for Scott. This blow NegaScott was about to deliver….he knew it would be the last.

"**I DON'T KNOW!"**

I saw the punch head towards Scott's body in slow motion, almost as if time was slowing down at this point. I could feel my eyes slowly shoot open and my mouth opening up in a form of a scream. But I couldn't scream. My voice was not able to. That punch was going to end Scott's life…and there was nothing I could do…not even scream before his death.

…but the punch didn't land.

Right before it hit Scott, NegaScott's punch stopped in mid-travel. Scott and NegaScott were now staring at each other, their eyes locked at each other. I wasn't sure what was going on…but it seems that they stopped fighting and somehow synced with one another. Their expressions matched and NegaScott's arms drooped back to his side as they continued to stare at each other.

"R-Ramona…" I heard Scott softly say. NegaScott just continued to stare as his counterpart. And then, in one brief moment, NegaScott merged with Scott. I felt a sigh of relief as I saw him merge with the real Scott. It was a breath of fresh air, for more than one reason. I was glad that Scott is still alive, and I am relieved that it is, indeed, POSSIBLE to defeat your darker half. Only difference is that he was physically able to harm him where mine is an image of my own subconscious. There was no way to harm her…not that Scott used physical damage to harm his dark self. I made my way to Scott and knelt down. He placed his hands against his eyes and rubbed them as he tried to deal what just happened.

"I remember everything." He said as I continued to look at him.

"Remember what?"

"Everything." He said as he sat up. "High School…college…Sex Bob-omb…Ramona…I remember it all."

"Do you?" I asked, curious if he does remember everything.

"Your name is Kimberly Pine. We dated in high school until our senior year." He started. "…when my parents decided to move to Toronto, I wasn't sure how to break the news to you because I knew it would break your heart so…I didn't tell you." Hearing Scott say that to me wasn't hurtful, but relieving. It means he finally knows. "…instead I told Lisa Millar. I knew she would tell you eventually. But until then, I couldn't see or talk to you those next couple of weeks. I couldn't…I just…couldn't-" He said as he rubbed his eyes again. "I couldn't bear the thought or the image of your sad face when I told you that I was breaking up with you Kim. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything…I'm sorry for me!"

I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a hug. It was all I ever wanted to hear from him…and more…but this time, I was able to properly return the favor.

"I told you already…apology accepted…"

* * *

"I don't deserve to get her back." Scott said to me as we stood at the bus station near my house. I looked over at Scott and saw the uncertainty in his eyes. His will to fight for Ramona was back, but he looked unsure if it will be worth it.

"So **FIGHT** for her. _Earn_ her back." I said to him as he continued to stare right at me.

_I wish I could go with you Scott…I really do. But I still have things I need to do here. Things that I need to do alone. I have to face my own ghost like you did. I wish you the best of luck Scott, not that you need it. Afterall, you're Scott Pilgrim._

I walked close to him and placed my hands against his chest. I felt him leaned back a bit but I continued to pressed against him as I leaned up and gave him a soft kiss.

_I know I'm stealing a kiss from him, and I know that this relationship can never work…but this is what I needed. This was the closure that I've been searching for…for almost eight years…_

I slowly broke away from Scott as I looked down at my hands which were still pressed up against his chest. Scott didn't move after the kiss. He was still stunned that I made that move on him.

"That's for luck." I softly said to him.

"Luck…"

I took a deep breath and regained my composure. "And it'll never happen again."

"All aboard!" We heard the conductor yell as Scott and I looked over at the bus Scott was about to board.

"You better get going. Find Ramona. Defeat Gideon. WIN Ramona's heart back!" I said to him as I saw the fire in his eyes rekindle. What was weird was that I also felt the fire in my own eyes. I felt Scott's determination. I felt Scott's desire to win.

"What about you Kim? What are you doing to do now?"

"I have my own things I need to work out. Just get going already." I said, mentioning him to get to the bus. I saw him look over his shoulder and then back at me.

"Well…good-bye Kim."

"This isn't good-bye, stupid."

"Does that mean you're coming back to Toronto?" Scott said surprised as the conduction was now calling final boarding.

"…we'll see." I said to him as I saw a smile spread across his face.

"…then I'll see you later Kim." He said as he turned around and walked to the conductor. Scott was the last person the board the bus, and by the sound of the conversation he was having with the conductor, it would seem that the bus was overbooked. Scott made a motion that everything will be fine and looked up at the top of the bus. In one leap, Scott jumped up and landed on top of the bus and grab hold of the roof of the bus.

"You show off!" I yelled at him as he waved bye to me. The bus pulled out of the station and started to head towards Toronto, with Scott Pilgrim riding on top. I could feel Scott's determination grow as the bus gained speed and soon out of my sight. I wasn't sure why…but everything that Scott is feeling right now I felt it too. He wanted to win. He wanted to find Ramona and beat the crap out of Gideon. Maybe it was because of the kiss, but I felt a link to Scott. Kinda like a soul link. Maybe not…afterall we're not soul mates. But there was a connection between me and Scott now. I couldn't be there physically for him, but I now can be there in spirit, literally.

…but I had no time to dwell on my new mental link to Scott…I had things to do. Ghost to face…shadows to chase away.

Scott was able to defeat his darker self from self realization…and Scott and my darker self had one thing in common…we were both haunted by our past. I learned a lot from the fight. And I finally knew what I had to do to finally banish my ghost forever…the only problem now is to find out where he is…

…where in the world could he be after all these years?

* * *

"Alright everyone. That's it for class. I'll see you all on Monday." I heard a voice call as I walked down the hallways of St. Joel's Catholic High School. I saw a group of students walk out of the classroom I was about to enter so I was forced to wait until everyone left. As I looked up and down the halls, many fond memories filled my head of my time in high school: conversations about class, hot gossip about the popular couples on campus, what the lunch lady was serving that day…they were indeed good times. I peeked inside the classroom to see that all the students have left the room. The only person that was left was the teacher, who was busy scribbling something in his notebook on his desk.

"It's been awhile Simon. Or should I say, Professor Lee." I said to the teacher as he turned around to look at me. He was a slim Chinese man…Ray Ban black frames, blue collared shirt with a purple tie and black dress pants on. As soon as he turned his head to see me, I raised an eyebrow, as if he wasn't sure who I was. But I couldn't blame him. It's definitely been awhile…

"Um…can I help you?"

I got off the doorframe I was leaning on and walked over to him. I reached up to my hair and pulled it all back to form a small ponytail. I made sure that my bangs weren't covering my freckles or my eyes.

"Does that help?" I asked as I saw his face turn from daze and confused to alert and surprised.

"Oh my God…Kim? Kim Pine is that you?" He asked as I released my hair, allowing it to fall back to place.

"Yeah it's me. It's great to see you again, Simon." I said to him as he got up and hugged me. Truthfully, I didn't think he would hug me. After what I did to him, it was the second to last thing I expected him to do. Last thing, of course, is kiss me. But I returned his hug with my own nevertheless.

"It's so good to see you, too, Kim. It really is. Please! Please sit down! We have a lot to catch up on!" He said as he broke away and motioned me to see down. I looked around and found the same table that I sat down eight years ago…the same table that I first met Simon…and the first time I met Scott. I walked over to my table and sat in my old seat. I could feel the memories come back again.

"Holy cow Kim. It's been awhile huh? Eight years I think?" He said to me as he took his chair from his desk and brought it to the opposite side of my desk.

"Indeed. Eight years. So what have you been up to? Teaching Geography at St. Joel's? Really? Isn't teaching high school the place where education degrees come to die?" I said jokingly as he shook his head.

"Hey! This was actually my first job alright! I actually wanted to work here, thank you very much."

"But why?" I said, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow at him.

"I don't know…I guess this place is special to me. A lot of good times here…I guess in the back of my mind I wanted to give back to the place that was the most influential part of my life." He said to me.

"I guess it's true what they say then. Your high school years are the best years of your life." I said as he laughed at my statement.

"I wouldn't say that. High school was terrible. I mean I learned a lot during those high school years…especially from this place. Academics were easy…life lessons were hard to learn. And this is where I learned them" He said, gesturing the whole room, but most likely talking about the whole school.

"Wow…that's pretty deep there Simon. I forgot how soulful you can be." I said to him as he looked back at me.

"So how are you Kim? What have you been up to? And how did you find me? After high school you kinda fell off the map." Simon said to me as I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper that's been folded in fours. I unfolded it to reveal the St. Joel's alumni newsletter.

"The alumni newsletter. You're quite active in it." I said to him as I tossed it on the desk. "Kinda weird, considering that you didn't graduate with us and therefore NOT an alumni. But I guess our school is very desperate in knowing whatever happen to their students, alumni or not." I said to him as he picked up the newsletter and looked at it.

"Very true. I think they just assumed I'm an alumni since I was a student here and I'm an actual teacher here."

"Here I thought it would be hard to find you. When I asked my parents if they know about your whereabouts they automatically turned me to St. Joel's." I said, leaning back in my chair. "But to answer your previous question. I've been doing…" I started but hesitated. "…good. Stressed, but who isn't, right?" I said to him as he laughed.

"No kidding…"

"As far as what I've been up to…I honestly don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"I guess my life has been in aloof right now. I actually moved back from Toronto."

"Why?"

"…trying to escape?" I admitted to him. He tilted his head in confusion. "Actually…the reason why I'm here is to talk to you about…'us'." Now if my last statement didn't confuse him, I'm pretty sure that statement definitely took the cake.

"I…I don't know what to say to that. What do you mean 'us'?" Simon asked as I scratched my head in hesitation.

"I mean 'us' in the past. You know…sophomore year and junior year…" I said to him. We both sat there in silence for awhile.

"Oh…Well, before you speak any further. I have to tell you that…" He started as he raised the back of his left hand to me. On his ring finger was a solid gold ring around it. "…I'm married."

"Whoa…I mean, congratulations Simon! I mean…wow. I…" I stammered as I saw the ring. "I…I'm actually surprised. You've come quite along since high school…even college! You have a solid job, a wife, probably a house…as for me…" I said as I felt myself getting depressed. "…I'm back to square one." I let out a sigh as I could no longer look at Simon. I was too ashamed to look at him. I graduated top of my class and my life hasn't come together as well as him.

"Hey. Come on Kim. My life was basically revolved around studying and working hard to get my teaching degree." He said to me, I guess trying to make me feel better, but it didn't help.

"I guess we all know who was the better student in the end…"

"Kim stop. Yes, I did work hard for what I have now…but it did come with a price. I mean…I wasn't involved in school clubs…never went out with friends to go drinking…hell, didn't have that many friends to begin with. I was so determined to get what I set my mind to that…well, had to sacrifice a lot of my social life. I guess I was lucky that in college I found a girl that was willing to stay with me throughout college." He said to me as he sighed as well. "I guess what I'm saying is that there are things that you've done that I WISH I could have done and vice versa."

"I guess you're right…" I said to him as we both sat in silence again.

"So…what did you want to talk about? Something about 'us'?" He said to me, motioning back and forth between us.

"Oh right. 'Us' in the past." I started as I took a deep breath. "I guess what I wanted to talk about…no…what I wanted to say to you was that I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Simon said, rather confused.

"I'm sorry for being the world's crappiest girlfriend. And breaking up with you in the crappiest way possible…" I said to him, not looking at him again out of shame.

"Oh…you mean with the whole 'Scott coming to kick my ass' thing?" He said to me as I felt more embarrassed as he mentioned it. "Look…I'll admit. That did suck. A lot…but truthfully, I wasn't that good of a boyfriend to you in the first place. Our relationship…I guess it was purely academics. I guess I just wanted someone that I can compete with and at the same time have someone that shared the same passion of studying like I did. I guess that's why I was attracted to you in the first place, Kim. You were a fighter. You were always trying to one up me everytime and it motivated me to work harder. Soon, I guess that's what the relationship turned into. I swear to you though, I thought you were one of the cutest girls in our class…but that physical attraction just turned into a competition. So really…I guess I should be the one apologizing to you." I raised my eyebrow at him as he said that to me.

"What?"

"I'm sorry that I was a crappy boyfriend and didn't pay that much attention to you in high school. I'm sorry that I used you as a motivational ploy than someone that I should have cared about with all my heart. I'm sorry." I smiled at his apology.

"Thanks Simon. I guess we both took our relationship for granted then, huh?"

"Yeah…I guess so…"

"…but that won't put my ghost to rest." I said as I got up and walked over to where he was.

"What? What ghost? What are you doing Kim?" He asked as I looked down at him. He took the hint and stood up so we were looking at each other in equal height.

"Simon. I'm sorry. But I want to break up with you." I said to him. I saw his eyes widen but then they relaxed again. "I feel that this long distance relationship isn't working out. We hardly have time to see each other since you move…you fail to hold up your promise of meeting at the Dufferin Mall every weekend…and I can't wait around forever until you decide to come see me. I'm sorry." I said to him as he gave me a small smile.

"I understand Kim. I'm sorry that I've wasted so much of your time. I'm sorry that I strung you along like that…I really am." Simon replied, playing along. I really appreciated that he was playing along…it made it feel more real. "…is there someone else? I know it's none of my business…but I just…I just gotta know."

I slowly nodded my head. "…yeah. There is. His name is Scott. He's not the smartest…not by a long shot but…he's a good guy."

Simon didn't say anything for awhile. I guess it was starting to feel real for him as well. "…does he make you happy?"

"…yeah. He does." I admitted to him. Simon let out a loud sigh as he placed his hands on his hips.

"…well, if he makes you happy, then he's ok in my book." He said to me.

"I'm sorry that this isn't going to work out Simon. You're a good guy…you really are. I'm sorry." I finished. I felt my soul feel lighter by this. It felt really good to finally give Simon an appropriate breakup…rather than the crappy one I gave him eight years ago. Simon continued to look at me as he crossed his arms.

"So do you feel better now?" He asked me as I nodded.

"Yeah. Loads. Thank you Simon. I needed that…I just felt that you deserve an appropriate breakup…you know, minus the beat up from Scott."

"I always though Scott was divine retribution for me being a horrible boyfriend…but I will admit that it did hurt to see you hook up with him right after he was doing beating me up. So thank you for the apology."

"Sorry…" I repeated like a broken record. I looked at the time on the clock and sighed. "Well, I gotta get going Simon. I need to thank you for listening to me Simon. I really needed to get that off my chest."

"No problem Kim. I know that we have history with each other but it's great to see you again after all these years."

"Yeah…it is. Well, I know where to find you now. Educate these kids Simon…I mean, Professor Lee. They are our future." I said to him as she smiled at me.

"I'll do my best, Ms. Pine. I will." I turned around and headed for the door. "Oh! And Kim?" I stopped at the door and turned around to look at Simon Lee one more time.

"Yeah?"

"Whatever 'ghost' is haunting you…I hope you're able to banish it back to where it came."

"…thank you Simon. Maybe I'll swing by again."

"Don't be a stranger. And thank you again Kim."

I nodded my head as I walked out of the classroom and down the familiar hallway out the double doors that lead outside.

* * *

It was getting dark outside. And when you're out in the forest and it starts to get dark, it really becomes noticeable. I went back to my home and got my walkman and headed back to my special clearing where I saw Scott and NegaScott fight each other. Ever since that battle, I wanted to head back there alone and see if I could face my own darker self in the same way Scott did. But as I sat here, listening to my music, there was no sign of my darker self. I even through about Scott for the longest time but still no sign of her.

"I don't get it…" I said to myself as I continued to listen to my music. "Now that I want her to show up she doesn't…and when I don't want her to show up she appears." I sighed as I tapped my foot to the rhythm of the music.

Suddenly, I felt my body receive a surge of strength. I wasn't why I was feeling like that, but I felt myself suddenly feel like I was ready to fight.

_What's going on? It feels like…it feels like I wanna fight. Why am I feeling…_

I looked around my surroundings and then I remembered what happen earlier.

_It's Scott…that's right. Ever since that kiss at the bus station…I guess I've been feeling what he's been feeling. He must have found Gideon…he must be fight him now. Give him hell Scott! Give him hell!_

"GIVE HIM HELL!" I yelled out loud, clenching my fist with all of the energy that I was receiving from him. The energy slowly faded away after I yelled that. Maybe Scott was concentrating hard on the fight….maybe he already defeated him. But I was no longer feeling the strength that Scott was channeling through his body. I sighed again as I continued to listen to the music.

_I hope you're doing alright Scott…_

Then I felt something. Something strong. Something horrible. It felt like a serrated knife being driven into my heart and being pulled out, only to be stabbed again. The pain was excruciating. I had to reach up and hold my own chest to make sure the pain wasn't really happening to me. It was hard to breath…it was hard to think. I wasn't sure what to make of the sudden pain. As I patted my chest to make sure that the pain wasn't real, I looked over in the direction of Toronto and took off my headphones.

"Oh God…what happened? Scott? SCOTT!" I yelled, hoping my voice would carry all the way to Toronto…but even I knew that was not possible. I continued to breathe hard. The pain was still there and it didn't go away.

_Scott…please. Please tell me that you didn't get defeated. Tell me that you're ok. Tell me that you didn't die!_

**Oh, he's dead Kimberly. He's very much dead…**

I narrowed my eyes and looked behind me to see my darker self standing there, her blood red eyes straight right into mine.

"You…"

**Me…**

"I've been waiting for you…" I said as I clench my fist and raised them up. "…and I'm ready to finally banish you from my mind forever!" I yelled as I threw a punch at my darker self. I saw my fist went straight through her and I fell forwards with my own power that I put behind that punch. I fell on my stomach and looked behind me, seeing her laughing at my failed attempt to harm her.

**What a show! Did you think you could physically touch me, Kimberly? You even knew it from the start that I'm a mental shadow…not a physical one like Scott's. But let me break it to you now so you don't waste your time thinking about it…I'm NOTHING like Scott's darker self.** She said to me as she disappeared from sight.

"Where did you…"

**I'm MUCH deadlier!** I heard her say from behind me as I felt something…or someone's hand penetrate my head from behind and squeezed my brain. I let out a terrified yell as it felt like something was probing by brain. I fell to my knees and down on my hands as I breathed hard, trying to regain my strength.

"_I told you Kim! Lisa and I never went out!"_

My eyes shot open as I heard Scott's voice. I looked in front of me to see Scott…a younger version of Scott talking to what appears to be a younger version of me.

"_Are you sure? You two seem very cozy with one another at the Valentine's day dance."_

"_But you said that it was ok that I danced with her!"_

"_But not like that!" _

"_God! You're so confusing sometimes Kim!" _I heard the young Scott yell at me. _"If you're feeling that this now then I…!"_

"_You what? Huh? What are you going to say?" _

"…_nevermind. I'm going home."_

"…that was our first big fight…" I said to myself as I saw the image of Scott walk away and me. As I saw them leave, I felt the pain of someone probing my head again. I let out another painful scream as I collapsed on my stomach.

"_Kim…? Can I ask you something?"_

I looked up again to see a younger version of me again sitting at a lunch table with a blond girl sitting right next to me. I instantly recognized that girl. It was Lisa Millar. My best friend.

"_Yeah Lisa?"_

"_Are you serious with Scott?"_

"…_um, yes? We've been dating for almost half a year now. I'm pretty serious about him."_

"_Do you love him?"_

"_I told you already…I'm not sure…"_

"_Oh…"_

"_Why do you ask Lisa?"_

"…_maybe you should make up your mind. And soon Kim. I mean…the worst thing you can do to a guy is string him along and waste his time."_

"_What's that suppose to mean?"_

"_I guess what' I'm saying is…you better make up your mind. Or else someone might steal Scott away from underneath you." _

I watched as Lisa picked up her tray and walked away. I saw the look on my younger face. A mixture of confusion and worry took over as she slowly continued to eat her lunch, but in a much more distressed state.

"…the first time I felt insecure about my relationship with Scott…" I muttered. The pain came back once more, the feeling of someone probing my head for more terrible memories. I screamed again as I felt my body curl up again in defense, but no matter what I did, the pain didn't go away.

"_Scott?"_

My eyes shot open. In front of my line of vision were Scott and me standing with a good distance between each other.

"_Lisa said you were moving away…Is it true?" _I watch Scott no respond to my question. Everytime I see this memory I always wish he would…but he never does. Even though I forgave Scott for this…it was still painful to watch. _"Scott…please talk to me. Tell me."_

Still no response.

"_Scott Pilgrim! Tell me you're not moving away! Tell me that I wasn't going to be the LAST to know about this! TELL ME YOU WERE GOING TO TELL ME!"_

**You cannot banish me Kimberly. I conquer your mind. You can go out and seek forgiveness from people of your past, but no matter how many people forgive you, you cannot get rid of me. I will forever be in your head…**

I closed my eyes as I felt tears start to form in my eyes.

_Maybe she's right. I'm not strong. I'm definitively not as strong as Scott. There is no way I can defeat my darker self. I'll forever be haunted by her…_

…_no matter what I do…_

…_I'm too weak…_

My eyes shot open. I felt a sudden surge of energy fill my body. My energy was restored and felt my strength return…maybe even more than what I'm use to. I wasn't sure why I was getting so much energy all of a sudden, but I was going to use. I quickly got up and looked over at my darker self, surprised to see me get up.

"I'm not through yet!" I said to her, my fist clenched again.

**How are you up?**

I wasn't sure at first, but then it hit me.

_Scott….Scott is alive! And he's fighting again…but this time it's different. He has more confidence. He has more determination. I can feel it…afterall, it's coursing through my veins as well. I can do this. I know what I must do. I know how to defeat her!_

"I know I can't physically hurt you...and you're nothing like Scott's dark self. But you both have something in common." I said to her as she raised her eyebrow at me. "You're a link to my past…the ghost of everyone and everything that I tried to block out in the past eight years. And in reality…" I said as I dropped my hands and relaxed a bit. "…you're not real." This made my darker self smile, not in her usual mischievous way, but in a sincere way.

**So you know who I am?** She said to me. There was movement right behind her. I saw two little hand grip the pants of my darker self and a little girl's head poked out from behind her. It was my younger self peeking out, looking at me. **And you know who she is as well?**

"…I do." I sighed. "It took me awhile to figure it out. At first, I believe that you were a manifestation of my desire to be with Scott. But you said it before, that's not true. So I continued to try to figure out what you are, and why you follow me around, especially when times got really hard for me. You followed me around when I was battling with my feelings for Scott, whether or not I was really using Jason Kim, if my decision to move back home was a good idea…" I saw my younger self walk out from hiding and stood right behind my darker self. "They say that the truth hurts…and you know what? You do hurt. A lot."

I saw the eyes of my darker self go from blood red to a different eye color. My eye color. Her dark clothes, skin, and hair were slowly turning back to its original colors. Soon…I was looking right at myself, as if I was looking right into a mirror.

"I'm proud of you Kim." She said to me as I sighed, walking up to her.

"You represent the truth. You're the real Kim Pine. I'm the dark presence." I said, looking at my hands. "I did have feelings for Scott. But I was too stubborn to realize it. I did use Jason Kim for the physical relationship. I knew that it wasn't going to go any farther than sex. But I didn't want to face the truth that I was just using him…I mean, who would admit that? And why I came home…I came home because I couldn't face the problems I was facing back in Toronto. I was running away from my life. My real life. I came home thinking I can start new…but I knew that couldn't happen. All the times where you came to pester me, mess with my mind, emotionally destroy me…you were just telling me what my TRUE feelings were. I was the one that was dismissing them as lies and slander. I couldn't face the truth, and I didn't want to believe it. I'm my own worst enemy." I looked up from my hands to look at my true self and my younger self.

"As for her…" I said, looking at my younger self. "She represents my soul…" I said as she smiled at me when I said that. There was only one chain left on her leg and it trailed behind her out of sight. "She's my inner child, I guess you can say. But the weight of all of my past mistakes were holding her down…holding me down. It made me spiteful…made me slow to trust people…made me a dark person. But there is only one chain left from the original four that were on her.

"Entertain me Kim…what were the chains?" I heard my true self say to me.

"It's not what…but who." I said as I knelt down and physically touched the chain, lifting it up. "Each of these chains represented someone that bear weight on my soul. Someone that held me down for all these years. "The first chain was Lisa Millar."

"_Shut up you…you…WHORE!"_ I heard the voice of myself echoing through my head. "_I…I loathe you! I…I never want to see you or hear from you ever again!"_

"I blamed her for the break up between Scott and me. All my hate, frustration, and jealously of Lisa all came to a climax on that day. I hated her…and I was thoroughly convinced that she was just trying to take Scott away from me. But when I realized that what she was saying was true, it made me hate Scott more…but my feeling towards Lisa was one of regret. I knew what I said to her was wrong…she was trying to be a friend and I couldn't see that. I was blinded by jealously. So when I finally gave her the apology that she deserved, I felt my soul feel better. That leads me to the second chain…Scott Pilgrim."

"_Scott Pilgrim! Tell me you're not moving away! Tell me that I wasn't going to be the LAST to know about this! TELL ME YOU WERE GOING TO TELL ME!"_

"Scott Pilgrim…probably the darkest and heaviest chain that was shackled to my soul. I…" I started as I paused for a minute. I wasn't sure before, but now I was certain. "I loved him. I always have. But for now for different reasons. Scott was my life back in high school. Before he came, it was just academics. Strive to be the best…get the praise of people that don't really know me. But when Scott came…when he started paying attention to me…it made me feel good. I wanted more and he wasn't afraid to give me more. Sure, we had our problems, but no relationship is perfect. I honestly thought that we had a future though. I saw us growing old together..sitting on a porch…holding each other's hands as the sunset. So when he broke up with me…no…when he left me…it destroyed me. It hurt me so bad that I thought no one like him will ever come along. I felt so alone without him…but at the same time I hated him for leaving me like that. I hated his guts for just leaving me to hang. We were together for almost two years and to be left to find out the truth from your best friend? That's…that took a toll on my soul."

I found myself smiling as I remembered Scott's apology. "But when he apologized…it was what I wanted to hear. It's all I ever wanted to hear. Scott's a very proud guy…so for him to open up to me like that…exposing that side to himself to me from underneath all that armor of strength and stupidity…it made me feel good. It made me feel like I can trust him again. It made me feel like I can finally be friends with him once more…without the hate…without the grudge…without the past coming back and reminding me of what happened. My relationship with Scott finally got the closure it deserved and it's only until then the shackle was removed. The third shackle…" I said as I took deep breath. "…was Simon Lee."

"Simon Lee?" My true self asked as I nodded.

"Simon Lee. My first boyfriend. This is the shackle that I made myself. The way I treated Simon…the way I broke up with him…and what happened to him afterwards…I blamed myself for it. There were other ways I could have done that. But I decided that talking to him about it face to face was the best way…but I couldn't collect my thoughts in a nice way to break up with him. I basically told him that everything he was doing to keep the relationship alive was useless. He put a lot of effort to keep it alive too…the letters he sent me were soulful…and thoughtful…but the truth was…I never read a single one. I couldn't read them. They weren't real. I wanted him to be there for me…physically be there for me. So when Scott came around and started to give the attention that I wanted…I knew that I wanted to break up with Simon. But what I blame myself on is stringing him for so long." I rubbed my eyes as I continued to think about it. "Not to mention that Scott followed me to Benvie Tech…Scott was under the assumption that Simon was preventing me from leaving the school. So he went and beat the crap out of him. Not to mention…that afterwards Scott and I shared our first kiss on that roof…the same roof where Simon's heart and body got broken. I blame myself for that. It could have gone better…it shouldn't have been like that…it shouldn't…

I wiped away a tear for my eye. "So when I found Simon Lee again, I gave him the break up speech that I wanted to give him after all these years…in the way that I wanted to say it. What made me break from that shackle was Simon playing along…as if we traveled back in time eight years. It felt good…and I knew that I would create real closure for him as well."

"That's great Kimberly…but there is still one more shackle left…" She said to me as I held the chain in my hand.

"Yeah…and the last shackle…" I started as I gave the chain a hard pull towards me. I watched as it whipped forward towards me and around, only to see it come back at my ankle where the other end of the shackle was. "…is mine."

I saw my younger self get excited as I said that. I smiled right back at her and reached over to give her a hug.

"I'm the last shackle on my own soul. And you're the key of finally freeing myself from these chains." I said to her as I got up. "The constant lies I've been feeding myself…the stories I told myself to put myself to sleep at night…the grudge, the hatred, the jealously…it was unhealthy. So I tried to dismiss it. I tried to leave it all behind me and forget about it. I thought by leaving it behind, I could move on and be happy. But that didn't work. You're proof that it didn't work. My past will always be there, whether I like it or not. And your constant taunting and harassment made me realize that I cannot run away from it. No one can. Scott tried, but only when he realizes he couldn't forget Ramona, he was able to banish his ghost. And so…" I started as I squared off with my other self and stared at her straight in the eyes.

"…I don't need you. I accept everything about myself. My strengths, my weaknesses, my flaws, and my past. It's what makes me whole…it's what makes me a person…" I said as I took a deep breath.

"**IT'S WHAT MAKES ME KIMBERLY PINE!**" I yelled, closing my eyes as I did. I panted as I used all of my energy in that yell. As I opened my eyes, I was alone. My other self was gone…my younger self was gone…I was standing in my special clearing alone. I looked around and saw that they were nowhere in sight. I couldn't believe it…I couldn't believe that I was able to banish my own ghost. It was over…and I felt great. Ecstatic even! I felt like I could run around all of Canada. And it wasn't because of the soul link I had with Scott. For the first time…

…in eight years…

…I finally felt…

…_free_.

* * *

"So you're going back to Toronto Kimmy?" I heard my mom say as I hauled my luggage to the front door. I placed it down and let out a sigh of relief.

"For the last time mom, yeah. I know how much it pains to you see your little girl go off to the real world." I said sarcastically. It's been a day days since I last went to my special clearing in the forest and banished my ghost forever…and I felt that it was time to return home…my second home away from home…in Toronto.

"Don't say things like that Kim." She said to me as she pulled me into a hug. "No matter how old you get you'll always be my little girl." I smiled as I returned the hug.

"That goes double for you, mom. No matter how old you get, I know that you'll always be my mom…and this place will always be my home." I said as I heard the door open. My dad was standing in the doorway as he looked at my mom and me.

"Ready to go?" He said as he held the keys to the car with his other hand. I gave a small smile to my dad as I picked up my luggage again. "Here, I'll get it." He said as I took the luggage from me and made his way to the car. I turned around and looked at my mom, who seems to be smiling at me for some reason.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't know…you seem…different. You seem…cheerful."

"…I guess I haven't noticed." I shrugged as my mom gave me one more hug before I walked out the house.

"Got everything?" My dad asked as I nodded. We both got in the car and pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the bus station.

"Call us when you get to Toronto, ok?" He said to me as I nodded. "So you said you already made living arrangements with someone? How much do you have to pay?"

"Yeah. I made arrangements. I'm going to be living in an apartment with a good friend of mine. And I was able to get my old job back…not that anyone wanted that old job in the first place." I chuckled at my old job as a clerk at No-Account. "I'll probably use my degree to actually find a real job though…I'll let you guys know…" I said to my dad. We made it to the station after a couple of minutes of travel. As we got out, my dad helped me carry my stuff to the bus.

"Be good ok? If there are any problems, don't be afraid to call home." He said to me as I looked over at the bus that will take me back to my life. My real life.

"I will dad." I said to him as I gave him a hug. "Thanks dad…for everything." I could tell my dad was a little thrown by my act of affection, but he hugged me back.

"Anytime Kimberly. You know you're my world." We both heard the conductor saying it's boarding time so I gave my dad one final hug before getting on the bus. As I made it to the back of the bus, I looked out the window and at the surroundings of Northern Ontario.

_This is the place where my life started. This place is part of my past…_

…_and this place will always be my home no matter what._

_A long trip later…_

I was woken up by the sound of the bus engine dying down. I looked out the window and saw that I was back at the Dundas Street coach Terminal. I was back in Toronto…and it was very very late. As I left the bus, I looked around, trying to find the person that I was going to be living with for who-knows-how-long. As I continued to look around, I realize that the person wasn't there. But I didn't fret. I knew he was going to be late…he's probably running from the wrong bus station again...

"KIM!"

I turned around to see a guy with light brown hair coming towards me. He was wearing an aged blue parka with an old iron-on X on the sleeve. I crossed my arms as he got close to me. He bent over and started to pant, trying to catch his breath.

"Sorry I'm late. I went to the wrong station again…"

"Don't sweat it Scott…" I said, shaking my head. "I was actually expecting it. Just help me grab my stuff. We have a long walk ahead of us." I said to him as I picked up one of my luggage while Scott grabbed the other one. "So you're really ok with me staying at your place?" I asked as he nodded.

"Of course it is!"

"And I won't be intruding between you and Ramona?" I asked as I looked over at him. He shook his head. "No way. She's really likes you Kim! She's actually likes the idea of you moving in. Though there will be times where…"

"…don't say another word Scott! It's bad enough that I feel it sometimes…" I said, looking away from him.

"W-What do you mean?" Scott said confused.

"Nothing…" I said as we walked down the sidewalk. "So what do you want to do when we reach your place?"

"Actually…I was wondering…do you wanna join a band?"

* * *

_And so…the next day…_

"WE ARE **SHATTERBAND!** ONE TWO THREE FOUR!"

"I thought love was somethin' somethinnn' faaaairy tails…" Scott sang as he played guitar while I handled the drum line for 'I'm a Believer' by The Monkees. But the truth was I wasn't sure how the beat went…and worse Scott didn't know what the tabs were, let alone the words to the song. We were just playing the best to our ability…and we both really didn't care. We were having fun. And really…why play if you don't have fun?

"Then I saw her face! Now I'm a bee-leavah!" Scott and I both sang as Knives Chau and Neil listened to us. After we finished our song, we both looked at Knives and Neil for constructive criticism.

"You guys are, um…you guys have so much potential!" Knives said, trying not to make eye contact with us. What she really meant to say was:

"_You guys suck, um…you guys suck so much….potential!"_ Or something along those lines. Neil was much more honest…and brutal.

"That was an extremely bad cover of 'I'm a Believer' by the Monkees." Neil said as I looked over at Scott.

"Bad news, Scott. The only two people who could ever be our fans have developed taste."

"Hell, who needs 'em?" He said to me as I raised my drum sticks in the air, smiling.

"We'll just keep playing to your cat." I said as I saw Scott's cat, Gideon, looking out the window. "Want to do it again?"

"Let's do it again."

_Then._

I looked out the window to see Scott and Knives talking to each other. I learned from Scott that she was actually going away to college so we won't be seeing her as often as we use to. But she did promise that she would try to visit as much as possible. I felt my heart get warm as I saw her hug Scott.

_Good for her…I hope she finally got the closure she was looking for…_

I pushed off the window sill and walked over to the couch where Gideon lounged. I sat down and picked up Gideon and placed him on my lap, petting him gently.

_I can't believe where my life has taken me after all these years. Here I thought I was so much along in life…but now that I took the time and really evaluate all the events that have happen…I'm actually happy on where I am right now. If I had a time machine and was able to go back in time, I wouldn't change anything. All the mistakes, decisions, and choices I had to make that lead up to this point in my life…I'm proud that I made them. Past Kim…if you can somehow here this…great job._

I felt Gideon get up, hop off my lap, and walk into the kitchen. I also got up and walked to the window just in time to see Scott walking up a wooden staircase that led up to the top of a hill. At the top stood Ramona, waiting outside a subspace door. They paused for a minute, staring at each other. Then…Ramona offered her hand to him. Scott hesitated for a minute, but he took her hand and they walk to the subspace door and opened it. After sharing one more moment looking into each other's eyes, they jumped in. To where it lead, I don't know…and I'm sure they didn't know where it lead either…but they knew that wherever they ended up going, they will get there together.

_Everyone is looking for 'happily ever after'. Two people meet, there is an instant connection, and then fireworks. Unfortunately only one story will end up like that. The others will end in disaster, tragedy,_ _heartbreak. To the victor go the spoils. For everyone else, the shattered remains of what is left of themselves and their heart. Now do not get me wrong, I'm not pessimistic. I do believe that there is hope and love in the world. Afterall, I would not do what I am doing now if I did not believe that. But what can you do…what can you think when you know your actions will never be repaid? That the battle you are fighting and the sacrifices you made will not bring you any satisfaction…_

…_well the truth is you do receive satisfaction. You learn a lot about yourself as you go through the trouble. I know I have. I am__ twenty-four years old and quite frankly, I have learned a lot. They always say that life is a journey and you should enjoy it as much as you can before you reach the end. As for me…I would say I learned A LOT about myself in the last eight years. Trust yourself, never be ashamed of your faults and decision… for they are what they makes you who you are today. Never lie to yourself either. It's the worst thing you can do. _

_What scares me the most is that I still have a long journey ahead of me. The future is always uncertain, and I'm scared of what's to come…but I know that I'll learn from the experience. Afterall, I have friends to help me along the way. The world is a dark, scary place where everyone and everything is trying to get you…hell, you're not even safe from yourself. But with the right friends…and the right state of mind, there is no obstacle too big or too small for you to overcome…_

_My name is Kimberly Pine…_

…_and this is my story…_

…_through my eyes._

_

* * *

_

The End


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